


Transtale

by coldphoenix



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Genderbending, Multi, The Void
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-17 19:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10600791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldphoenix/pseuds/coldphoenix
Summary: Sans is trying to bring W.D. Gaster back from the clutches of space and time, but when he thinks everything is going according to plan he himself is taken and seemingly replaced with an alternate version of himself. Now this other Sans, known as 'Serif', must figure out a way to get herself home, but that's easier said than done with The Great Papyrus around!*contains humour, mild nsfw and a LOT of feels*





	1. Not In Kansas

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first full Undertale fic. I'm still relatively new to the fandom and it's my first time writing the Skelebros so please forgive me if some parts seem out of character, but hopefully this will turn out to be a fun read.  
> I'm looking to keep it light-hearted with a lot of humour, a good amount of cuteness, some funny-but-awkard character scenes and a few feels towards the end... kind of like the real Undertale, I guess. So... yeah. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts :)  
> Thank you!  
> 

_Buzz. Whirr._  
“whoa…” Out in Snowdin, in a secret laboratory that not many people knew about, Sans the skeleton took a step back and stared in wonder at the sight before his eyes. … It worked. It was working again… On the floor in front of him was a dusty lilac sheet; it had once covered an old, powerful machine… A machine that had swallowed up a brilliant scientists many years ago. It had exhausted itself in the act and it been broken ever since, but now… _Whirr_. The motor spun wildly – excitedly even, as if it were making up for all those years of dormancy. Sans gazed at it, almost breathless as he thought about what would happen next. This was it. The endgame. He was about to be freed… _Him_. W.D. Gaster, the great Royal Scientist that had met his demise at the hands of… … this machine.

Sans took a nervous step towards the creation, a product of Gaster himself. Heh. Maybe he shouldn’t build such dangerous things. … Would he be angry about what had happened to him? Sans had often wondered. Over the years, it had put him off trying to rescue Gaster sooner. What if he wasn’t Gaster anymore? What if he’d become a bitter monster, like some kind of evil ghost? … … Welp! Time to find out. Sans hadn’t slaved over restoring this piece of metal for nothing.

Sans approached the machine and looked down at its dials. Okay. He’d studied the blueprints for this thing right down to the last detail. He’d figured out exactly what the machine had done to take Gaster, so if he wanted to reverse it he just needed to input this… Sans entered a few codes into the machine, and it seemed to be responding well. Okay, so now he just had to press this big dangerous-looking red button…

_**Swoosh**_! Sans gasped as an overwhelming bright light filled the room, and he suddenly felt dizzy. What… What the hell? He felt like he was fading… Like he was being dragged down by an unseen force – oh crap! This wasn’t supposed to happen! He felt his life slipping away; he felt his grip on reality slowly diminishing and he was powerless to stop it. He couldn’t move; he couldn’t think… There was a heavy tugging on his soul, and then… _Swoosh_! All of a sudden, Sans felt a heavy force pushing him as if someone had just punched through his spine, and he was flung.

In a flash, the bright light that had engulfed the room disappeared just as a skeleton in a pink hoodie went sailing across the room and smacked into the wall with a great thud. The machine let out a loud shriek, as if it were struggling to go on, and all at once its healthy whirring stopped.   
“ugh…” The skeleton groaned, struggling to keep herself awake. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall, allowing her skull to flop around as a dull ache echoed through her bones. Wow, that hurt. What the hell had just happened…? Eventually she opened her eyes and stared at the scene before her. It was the machine… The light was gone, but… there was no sign of Gaster. There was no sign of anybody else here. … Dammit, why wasn’t Gaster here? She should be – oh, crap. The skeleton let out a groan as she climbed to her feet, a sharp pain shooting through her bruised bones with every movement. Okay, so… now she’d learned that getting launched into a wall kind of sucked. She wandered over to the machine, and examined it. … … Yep. Broken again. Man, Gaster really didn’t build this thing to last, did she? … Welp. The skeleton shrugged. She’d tried. It was the thought that counts, right? Hm… wow. Her head really hurt. Maybe she should call in sick to work… she was already an hour late, after all. But… if she did that, Pristina would really flip. Hm… kind of a tough choice… … Oh, wait. The skeleton smacked her hand onto her chest, feeling to see if her bra was empty. Yep. She was out of ketchup, and she could really do with some right now to get her mind off this huge headache. Okay, so it seemed like she had no choice but to go to her post and pick up a few sachets of her favourite condiment. She made her way out of the lab, and headed for Sans’s lookout post.

XXXXX

“SANS?” A loud voice echoed through Snowdin, emanating from The Great Papyrus. He’d been up and down the Underworld for over an hour now, looking for his brother. After travelling all the way to Hotland and back, he was just on his way back to the Ruins to start again when he saw a figure at Sans’s lookout post. _**Finally**_! “SANS!” Papyrus yelled, racing over to who he assumed was his brother. Humph! Just look at that! Head down, eyes closed. Sans was sleeping on the job again! “SANS! WAKE UP, YOU LAZYBONES – HUH?” Papyrus blinked when he noticed something odd about his brother. “HEY…” He uttered, steadily approaching the figure. That was weird… Sans was wearing different clothes. He was dressed like a girl, actually. He was wearing a pink hoodie, and a black and white striped skirt, and stockings up to his knees. He looked a little shorter, too. What was going on? Was this… supposed to be a prank? To throw Papyrus off-guard…? Ha! “NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus laughed triumphantly. “SANS, DO YOU REALLY THINK I’M GOING TO FALL FOR THAT? JUST BECAUSE YOU CHANGED YOUR CLOTHES, AND YOUR HEIGHT, AND YOU’RE MAYBE A LITTLE SLIMMER, THAT DOESN’T MEAN I WONT RECOGNISE YOU!”   
“hm…” The sleeping skeleton stirred, opening her eyes. “hah. yeah…” She rubbed her eye sockets and yawned, looking over at Papyrus. “you know, kiddo… if i’m not dressed like sans, and i don’t look like sans…” She hopped off her chair and stood before Papyrus, shrugging in a Sans-like fashion. “then maybe… i’m not sans.”

Papyrus blinked, suddenly confused. Huh… Changing his clothes and looks was one thing, but how did Sans manage to sound so much like a girl? Maybe this guy was right… Maybe he wasn’t Sans. But then, why was he at Sans’s post? And, more importantly… if he sounded like a girl…  
“OH MY GOD YOU’RE A GIRL!” Papyrus screamed, leaping back with such force he managed to trip himself up and fall backwards into the snow.   
“whoa – settle down. it’s not that weird, is it?” The female skeleton replied. She stood over Papyrus and smiled, offering her hand out. “here, let me help you.”

Papyrus stared down at her hand, and then back at the girl. No… This was all wrong. She was a lady – a lady skeleton! Papyrus didn’t even know those things existed, and now he’d _fallen down in front of one_! Oh no, that was so uncool! Argh, and now she was helping him – **him** , the Great Papyrus! He had to fix this! He couldn’t be caught looking like a loser in front of a skelegirl! But fortunately, Papyrus in his greatness and wisdom knew exactly what to do.   
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Papyrus yelled. “I DON’T NEED YOU TO HELP ME UP! IF ANYTHING, I SHOULD BE HELPING YOU!”   
“wha – **whoa**!” The girl cried out as Papyrus leapt to his feet and threw his arm down onto her, hitting her right on her wall bruises and knocking her to the floor. She let out a low groan as a dull pain thundered through her spine, as if it didn’t hurt enough already without some maniac knocking her around.   
“NOW – ALLOW ME TO HELP YOU UP!” Papyrus exclaimed, and with a wide grin he held out his hand to her. The female skeleton raised her skull to stare up at him, bewildered. He looked… kind of excited. Like he really wanted to help her up. … Hm. He seemed pretty innocent, actually. The skelegirl giggled, somehow charmed by his energy. Well… he didn’t really look like he’d meant to hurt her. He was just overexcited. Hah. Cute.   
“you remind me of my sister.” The skelegirl said, and allowed Papyrus to pull her to her feet. “where did you come from anyway? i didn’t think there were any skeleboys down here.”   
“WELL I MIGHT ASK YOU THE SAME THING!” Papyrus replied. “I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME AND MY BROTHER SANS – AND THAT’S ANOTHER THING!” He looked at her, narrowing his eye sockets. “WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT HIS POST? DID HE ASK YOU TO COVER FOR HIM? THAT NO-GOOD LAZYBONES! HE SHOULDN’T BE DELEGATING HIS WORK TO STRANGE WOMEN!”   
“ _his_ post?” The girl blinked. Wait… That didn’t make any sense. This was her post. … Ohhhh, no… This wasn’t looking good. What the hell had that machine done?   
“YES – YOU SHOULDN’T BE COVERING FOR HIM, YOU’RE NOT INSURED. WHY DON’T YOU HEAD HOME – OR EVEN BETTER, HELP ME LOOK FOR SANS. HE’S BEEN MISSING ALL MORNING.” Papyrus said.   
“yeah, uh… so i guess the last time you saw him was at home, right?” The skelegirl replied. “why don’t we start there?” Okay, she had to see this. She _really_ hoped he wasn’t going to take her where she thought he was going to take her…  
“GOOD IDEA. NOW YOU’RE STARTING TO SOUND LIKE HIM! WHAT AN ODD COINCIDENCE!” Papyrus grinned, and he suddenly let out a gasp. “OH – SORRY!” He cried, suddenly seeming a little flustered. “I – I’VE BEEN SO IMPOLITE! I DIDN’T EVEN TELL YOU MY NAME… I’M PAPYRUS.”   
“serif.” The skelegirl replied.   
“UH… YEAH. I GUESS THAT’S AN OKAY RESPONSE, FOR A GIRL…” Papyrus sweat dropped, not quite sure of what she was trying to say. “WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”   
“serif.” The skelegirl repeated.   
“IS THAT SOME KIND OF COUGH?” Papyrus frowned. “ARE YOU SICK OR SOMETHING?” He took a step back, and held his hands up defensively. “DON’T GIVE IT TO ME – I’M DUE TO START MY JOB AS A ROYAL GUARD ANY DAY NOW! I DON’T WANT COOTIES!”

The skelegirl giggled a little. Oh wow, this guy was something else.   
“no – papyrus, my name is serif.” She said. “y’know, as in ‘sans-serif’, or… some other font.”   
“OH – I SEE!” Papyrus gasped. “I’M SORRY. THAT’S…” He paused, his cheeks darkening slightly as he stared at her. He didn’t know why, but there was something incredibly comforting about this girl. Like he knew her, somehow… … But he didn’t! He didn’t know any skelegirls! “THAT’S… A BEAUTIFUL NAME.” Papyrus uttered quietly, somewhat disturbed by the soothingness of her presence. “… SHOULD WE GO?”   
“lead the way.” Serif replied, and she followed Papyrus through Snowdin. 

XXXXX

As they walked towards his house, Papyrus couldn’t help feeling a little weird. He couldn’t work it out. He wasn’t nervous, he… He was oddly comfortable. Walking next to Serif like this was sort of… nice. He didn’t know what to make of it. They’d only just met – he shouldn’t feel comfortable around her! Not like this, anyway. This was super comfortable. Like, best friend comfortable. But they were still getting to know each other, and Papyrus had no idea who she was or where she’d come from… but he felt like he knew her. He didn’t know her, right? He hadn’t like, seen her every day for his whole life, then suddenly forgotten about it? … … No. That wasn’t right – if that was true, then she would know his name. Unless she’d forgotten too… Maybe they were best friends, who’d suddenly forgotten about each other. Could that happen? But if it had… did that mean Papyrus had **other** friends he’d forgotten about? Maybe he was actually the most popular guy in the Underground! Yeah! That made so much sense, because he was such a cool guy! … Wait, but if he had so many secret friends, then why did he never get any mail? Or followers on UnderNet? … Maybe it was Serif herself. Maybe he felt weird, just because of her. She was a pretty weird girl, after all. Since when did a female skeleton live down here? With such a calming presence, and such beautiful eyes. … Uh-oh. Papyrus stiffened slightly as he walked. Okay, now he was nervous. He was far too aware of what good company she was. For some reason he really liked her – he really _really_ liked her. Why did he like her so much? She was just so nice to be around, but how would he know that? He’d literally known her for five minutes. Maybe this was… love at first sight. Was that what this was? Ohh, this was all happening so fast! He hadn’t prepared for this – this was such bad timing! He was supposed to be finding Sans, and instead he’d found… a really beautiful thing… And sitting on that beautiful chair in the lookout post was Serif. She wasn’t like the other girls Papyrus knew. She wasn’t like Undyne, for example. Undyne was really cool to be around, but Serif was relaxing. Warm, and soothing… She was kind of… live-together-able. It felt like she and Papyrus should be living together, in the same house, and eating spaghetti that Papyrus had made for them both… Argh! This was way too sudden!   
“hey.” Serif’s voice caused Papyrus to freeze on the spot. He looked down to see Serif staring up at him with those calming beautiful eyes that had an ever so slight pink glow… _Wow_. “you okay, kiddo?”   
“FINE!” Papyrus screamed. “I’M NOT AT ALL THINKING ABOUT MOVING IN WITH YOU!”   
“cool.” Serif shrugged. “are we good to go then?”   
“UH – YES.” Papyrus nodded. He looked up, and realised that they’d actually reached his house. “HERE WE ARE!” 

Serif stared up at the building, and her face fell. Oh, no… She’d been afraid of this. No… _No_!  
“papyrus… is this your house?” She asked nervously.   
“YES.” Papyrus answered.   
“and… you live here with sans, right?” Serif uttered. No… No no no…  
“YES. ME, AND SANS. THIS IS OUR HOUSE.”

Serif suddenly went quiet as a horrible cold feeling ran through her soul. Oh, shit… What had that machine done? This was… This was **her** house! And her mailbox… Serif moved over to the two mailboxes outside the house. One was labelled ‘Papyrus’ and couldn’t be any neater, and the other was overfilled and unmaintained… This was hers. This was definitely _her_ mailbox. But it said on it… ‘Sans’. No… No way! The machine… Crap! She must have done the calculations wrong or something. It hadn’t pulled Gaster out, it had moved Serif to – what was this anyway? Another timeline? Where girls were boys? So this Sans guy… he was actually another version of her. A boy version. So then, this tall one… Serif looked at Papyrus, the magical pink pupils of her eyes widening as she started to realise who she was looking at.   
“pristina…” She choked.   
“HUH? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?” Papyrus frowned, oblivious to the situation. “IS THAT ANOTHER FONT? YOU KNOW, IT’S KIND OF PRETTY. MAYBE IF I’D BEEN A GIRL, THAT WOULD BE MY NAME.”   
“hah.” Serif sweat dropped. “yeah, kiddo. you might be right.” Ohhh crap. How was she going to fix this? This was such a disaster. Or maybe… a dis _gaster_. … Hah. That one was pretty good.


	2. Grillby's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this chapter! And I'm sorry, Sans XD I love you really Dear, but I like to torture my fictional crushes :p  
> 

Serif stared in awe at Papyrus, who gazed back with a confused expression on his face. Wow… So this skeleboy was actually… her sister? Or rather, her brother… That was pretty weird. … Welp. Maybe it would be fun, to have a little bro for a while. A short while. Serif still had to get back home soon! Pristina would throw a huge hissy fit if her sister wasn’t back in time to read her a bedtime story. Serif had to get to the lab…  
“SO… LET’S GO INSIDE.” Papyrus said. He entered his house, and Serif cautiously followed.

She looked around. Huh. This was different. The layout was the same as her house, but the colour scheme was a little more masculine. Pristina had decorated the house she shared with Serif, and the walls were cream and the carpet was a pale brown… and their sofa was yellow. Hm… Serif looked at the skeleboys’ sofa. Green. It looked kind of cool. Then there was the TV, that was the same, and… ha!   
“what’s this?” Serif asked, smirking down at the single sock that was on the floor, underneath a series of notes going back and forth between Papyrus and Sans.   
“OH – THAT’S MY BROTHER’S SOCK!” Papyrus answered angrily. “HE’S INCREDIBLY MESSY, HE LEAVES HIS DIRTY CLOTHES JUST LYING AROUND! IF IT WAS UP TO HIM, THIS PLACE WOULD BE A DUMP!”   
“in my house, it’s a stocking.” Serif replied. “my sis gets really annoyed when i don’t clean. she’s kind of a neat freak.”   
“WELL THEN, SHE SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT ROOMMATE.” Papyrus said. “SHE MUST BE A JOY TO LIVE WITH.”   
“yeah… she’s pretty cool.” Serif nodded. 

Hm… She kind of wanted to explore the rest of this house, just to compare. Maybe once she got the machine working, she could hang out here a little. It wouldn’t hurt to stay here for a couple of hours, right? So long as she was back before Pristina’s bedtime. “hey… pap. i have an idea.” Serif said, and looked at Papyrus. “why don’t you go look for sans, and i’ll stay here? you know, in case he comes back.”   
“OH – THAT’S A GREAT IDEA!” Papyrus nodded. “YOU’RE… SO SMART.” He felt his cheeks burning again as the phrase ‘not just a pretty face’ came to mind… Wow. This was so awkward… Now that he’d thought of it, he suddenly couldn’t get over how pretty she was. She had such a calm look, and such a beautiful smile… What was it about this girl? Why was she so soothing?   
“what’s the matter?” Serif asked, noticing that Papyrus was suddenly looking uncomfortable.   
“OH! N-NOTHING!” Papyrus gasped, flustered. Oh – oh, no! He couldn’t tell her what he was thinking! It was so embarrassing! He had to make something up – fast! “I – I WAS JUST THINKING… YOU REALLY **DON’T** HAVE A PRETTY FACE.” Papyrus exclaimed. Nyeh heh heh, yes! He’d totally nailed it! That would definitely throw her off-guard!   
“yeah well, i’m not really into makeup.” Serif frowned, somewhat insulted. Tch. Really? This Pristina too? Pristina was always going on about how Serif was too lazy and not girly enough… it was kind of disappointing to see that as a boy she wasn’t much better. Did it really matter if Serif was too lazy to wear makeup or move her clothes? … Well… actually, the clothes thing was kind of for Serif’s own amusement… “anyway.” Serif said. “you go on and look for sans. i’ll keep watch here.”   
“OKAY – MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME!” Papyrus nodded. “I… IF YOU WANT…” He looked at her, and stiffened. Uh… Oh, wow. He felt nervous again. “YOU CAN… GO INTO MY ROOM, AND LOOK AT MY ACTION FIGURES.” His cheeks darkened and he shifted a little, wondering if he was saying the right thing. “IT’S THE ONE ON THE LEFT. I… I HAVE A PRETTY IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION.” He held his breath nervously, and waited for Serif’s response. He really wanted to show off his collection to her. For some reason, he really wanted her to think he was cool – and if she saw his action figures she’d think he was cool for sure! And maybe… maybe then she’d want to hang out with him more, and go on a date… Arrgh! No! This was so crazy! “ANYWAY, I’M GOING!” Papyrus screamed as the intensity of the moment became too much for him to bear. “BYE!” He bolted out of the house as fast as he could, his cheeks bright red and his magical heart racing against his ribcage.

Serif giggled to herself, oblivious to what was really going on in Papyrus’s head. Hah. He was pretty cute. He was a lot more nervous than Pristina, though. Maybe he wasn’t good around strangers. She waited a moment for Papyrus to get far enough away from the house, and then she made her way to Sans’s secret lab.

XXXXX

Okay… Come on, come on… _Dammit_! Serif let out an angry sigh when after the tenth attempt at repairing this machine, it still failed to power up. The motherboard was completely fried, but she didn’t have the parts to fix it – she’d already used up everything that she could find in this lab, and still nothing.   
“crap.” Serif groaned, and slid her back down the machine until she was sitting miserably on the floor. She hung her head, her foot tapping against the floor as she tried to think of what she could do. Ugh. This was horrible. She never concentrated this hard. It was really starting to hurt her head. She had to get home… She’d been in the lab for an hour already – Pristina must be getting really worried. Or really mad… They were kind of the same thing. Hm… Well, maybe Sans was having better luck in her universe. If they really had just traded places he’d have this machine over there, and if just one of them could figure out how to fix it, they would both be saved. … But… what if Sans wasn’t there? Serif stiffened slightly as that worst case scenario occurred to her. What if Sans had been thrown into some other, totally different timeline? Or even worse, erased. Shit… what if he’d been erased? What the hell was she going to tell Papyrus? … Would _she_ have to tell him? It kind of wasn’t her responsibility, was it? Maybe she could just say Sans went to live on a farm or something… Or, looking on the bright side, maybe Sans _was_ in Serif’s universe, working on the machine right now just like she was. … And… maybe he’d decided to give up because he figured Serif would fix it. Kind of how Serif was giving up now in the hope that Sans would fix it… … Oh, crap. That was totally the most likely scenario. “sans, i can’t fix the machine.” Serif sighed. “you’ll have to do it. don’t worry, i have complete faith in you.” 

_Shiver_. Whoa! What was that? Serif’s entire body suddenly shivered as she felt an ice cold chill travel through her, like someone was walking on her soul. That was horrible. Since when did a draft get in here? Gross…

Meanwhile, in another universe, Sans was also shivering as he sat down on the exact same spot as Serif, their souls loosely linked across space and time. What the hell was that? Was there a draft in here? Whatever… There was no way he could fix this machine in time for Papyrus’s bedtime. Papyrus was going to get so cranky… He probably wouldn’t sleep properly.   
“i hope you’re a good storyteller, kiddo.” sans spoke to his female counterpart. “and uh… i hope you can fix this thing for us. i’m totally stumped.” Heh. Well, he hoped she wasn’t leaving it up to him. That was, if she still existed at all…

Sans raised his head to look at the TV screen at the top of the room, just to see who was around. It was linked to a CCTV camera that recorded the area around the lab, so he could see who was coming and… oh, crap. Sans’s pupils widened when he saw a skelegirl coming back into Snowdin. “pris!” He gasped.   
_“gotta get out of here!”_

Back in Sans’s universe, Serif leapt to her feet as soon as she saw Papyrus on his way back towards the house. Crap! He couldn’t know about this lab! Well… presumably. Pristina didn’t know about it, after all. Serif bolted out of the lab, and managed to lock up and walk away just in time to see Papyrus coming round the corner.   
“OH, THERE YOU ARE.” Papyrus said. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE MY HOUSE?”   
“oh, i uh…” Serif uttered, trying to think of something plausible to say. “i was… looking for a place to eat.” Hm. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. Now that she thought about it, she was pretty hungry.   
“OH, YOU’RE HUNGRY?” Papyrus grinned, his face lighting up in delight. “THEN ALLOW ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, TO COOK FOR YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU THE MOST DELICIOUS SPAGHETTI YOU’VE EVER TASTED IN YOUR LIFE!”   
“uh…” Serif sweat dropped. Oh… No. She really couldn’t deal with Pristina’s cooking right now – and maybe Papyrus’s was even worse. Shoot… but look at that face. He’d be totally devastated if she refused. “uh… you know what?” Serif smiled at Papyrus. “that sounds great, really great – but actually, i’m not that hungry after all. how about we just go grab a drink or something instead?” She moved her eyes across Snowdin, and set them on a large, familiar looking building. Hm… Was that still the same over here? “how about there?” Serif asked.

Papyrus followed her gaze, and his face fell. Ugh… Grillby’s. She wanted to go _there_? That place was gross!   
“ARE YOU SURE?” Papyrus almost groaned. “THAT’S GRILLBY’S – IT’S FULL OF GREASE!”   
“yeah, but… we aren’t eating there.” Serif shrugged. “where else would you suggest?”

Papyrus looked at Serif. Actually, he could name a few more places that were much nicer. Like the MTT Resort for one – why didn’t they just go there? But… then again, that place was kind of pricey. Normally Sans paid for stuff. Papyrus wasn’t sure if he’d earned enough allowance to drink at a fancy place like the MTT Resort. Hm… Well, Sans _did_ have a tab at Grillby’s, so Papyrus could probably just use that… Ugh. But it was so greasy! And it was dirty, and it smelt like grease and dirt! … But… Serif wanted to go there. She was new to the area, so it would only be right for Papyrus to show her a good time and let her go where she wanted, right? Besides, there was that thing… He couldn’t remember where he’d heard it, but…   
“GRILLBY’S IT IS!” Papyrus announced. “JUST THIS ONCE, I WILL GO AGAINST MY EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH STANDARDS, JUST FOR YOU.”   
“hah. thanks.” Serif grinned. Hm… She was kind of starting to feel bad, though. Pristina did hate Grillby’s after all. Serif had kind of hoped that her male counterpart wouldn’t be so crazy about hygiene, but he clearly was. She didn’t want to make him drink there if he didn’t want to… “it’s okay.” Serif said. “we can give it a miss if you want –”  
“NONSENSE!” Papyrus yelled, cutting her off.

Serif flinched slightly as Papyrus leapt at her and took hold of her hand. “YOU WANT TO GO TO GRILLBY’S, SO I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ESCORT YOU TO GRILLBY’S! AND WE AREN’T LEAVING UNTIL EITHER YOU’RE SATISFIED OR I THROW UP!” He tugged on her hand, urging her to follow him. “NOW LET’S GO TO THAT GOD-FORSAKEN GREASE PIT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME!”   
“haha!” Serif laughed, charmed once again by his enthusiasm. “pap, it’s okay.” She squeezed his hand and offered him a warm smile. “you don’t have to go there just for me.”

Papyrus froze on the spot, stunned by the feeling of Serif squeezing his hand. Oh, wow… That felt so nice. Her hands were so warm, and so easy to hold. This was… really starting to get… out of _hand_. … Ugh. That was terrible. If only Sans was here, so Papyrus could say that awful pun to him. He’d be so proud.   
“YES. I DO.” Papyrus replied.

He looked at Serif, and his expression suddenly turned serious. “BECAUSE, SERIF… A LONG TIME AGO, SOMEBODY TAUGHT ME THAT YOU SHOULD MAKE SACRIFICES FOR PEOPLE THAT YOU LOVE.”   
“really?” Serif blinked. “who taught you that?”   
“I HAVE NO IDEA. BUT IT WAS PROBABLY SANS. OR UNDYNE. I BASICALLY LEARNED EVERYTHING I KNOW OFF THOSE TWO, SO ONE OF THEM MUST HAVE TAUGHT ME THAT.” Papyrus answered.   
“huh…” Serif uttered. She never remembered telling Pristina something like that… Maybe Sans was a little more of a good influence than Serif. Who was Undyne anyway? Was that this timeline’s version of Undyrus? … Wait. Hold on – forget all that! What did Papyrus just say? “people… you _love_?” Serif repeated, staring at Papyrus. Okay, this was getting weird now… He didn’t really mean that, did he…?  
“OH – NO, I - - I GOT IT WRONG!” Papyrus gasped, suddenly realising his mistake. Oh, _no_! He’d slipped up! He couldn’t let her know that he loved her! He – he didn’t even know if he did love her! Maybe it was purely superficial, because of how drop-dead gorgeous she was! That wasn’t love, right? It was just the main cause of cooties! “I MEANT – PEOPLE THAT YOU’RE WILDLY ATTRACTED TO. _**NO WAIT**_!” Papyrus screamed, covering his mouth with both hands. “UHHH… I… I MEANTH…” He uttered, his voice muffled by his gloves. His cheeks turned bright red; he could feel them burning as he started to shake on the spot, panicking. Crap, what could he say? He had to think! “I…” Papyrus lowered his hands, and looked down at Serif. “I MEANT… PEOPLE THAT ARE… NEW TO THE AREA.”   
“so… sans told you to make sacrifices… for people that are new to the area?” Serif said.   
“UH… YES.” Papyrus nodded. “THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE I’M POTENTIALLY IN LOVE WITH YOU, DOES IT?”   
“well… no, _that_ thing in particular didn’t sound like that.” Serif answered. “but –”  
“PERFECT! SO LET’S GO WITH THAT!” Papyrus nodded enthusiastically, his pupils lighting up in delight. He was incredibly pleased with himself – proud of himself, in fact. As far as he was concerned he’d just completely resolved the situation, throwing Serif off-guard and leaving her completely oblivious to his sudden attraction to her. “COME ON!” He grabbed hold of Serif’s hand again and pulled her along, practically dragging her into Grillby’s.

XXXXX

The warmth of Grillby’s hit Serif as if she had just settled down by an open fire, and the smell of fried food and ketchup filled her nostrils. Mm… At least something in this universe was familiar. Grillby’s was the best place to be, wherever it was. It was kind of odd to Serif that Grillby still had the same name though. Maybe she was always destined to work in a grill bar. Hah. Well, it did suit her after all.   
“OKAY, SO UH… LET’S GO AND ORDER.” Papyrus said. “YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT, I’LL TAKE CARE OF IT.”   
“huh?” Serif blinked. Oh… right. She didn’t have a tab here. … It was a pretty good thing Papyrus was willing to take care of the bill then, because she didn’t have anywhere near enough gold on her to pay for the amount of ketchup she was planning on drinking. “are you sure, pap?”   
“OF COURSE!” Papyrus nodded. “A LONG TIME AGO, SOMEBODY TOLD ME THAT IF I EVER MEET A BEAUTIFUL GIRL, I SHOULD PAY FOR THEIR DRINKS AND DINNER.” He paused for a moment, considering where he might have got that idea. “… MAYBE IT WAS UNDYNE WHO TOLD ME THAT ONE, TO GET ME TO PAY FOR HER STUFF.” He paused again, still considering. “BUT… IF THAT WAS TRUE, WHY WOULD SHE ADD THE WORD ‘BEAUTIFUL’ IN THERE? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW… SHE HAS A _**GREAT**_ PERSONALITY, BUT… … YOU KNOW WHAT? MAYBE ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WAS SOMETHING THAT I ADDED IN.” He looked down at Serif, and laughed nervously. “NYEH HEH HEH… WELL ANYWAY, YOU’RE A GIRL, SO I SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THE BILL. COME ON.” He made his way over to the bar, and immediately spoke to the bartender, “HEY GRILLBY, I’M PAYING FOR ALL OF MY FRIEND’S STUFF BUT I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY, SO PUT IT ON SANS’S TAB.”

Grillby opened his mouth to speak, when a red bird monster who was sitting at the bar piped up,   
“Grillby says Sans doesn’t even have a tab.” He said.   
“I never said that! Stop making up my dialogue, you lousy drunk!” The bartender Grillby growled, and looked at Papyrus. “Yeah that’s fine. Where is your brother anyhow? I haven’t seen him all day.”   
“I DON’T KNOW…” Papyrus answered, taking a seat at the bar. He paused for a moment, seeming somewhat concerned. “I’VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR HIM, BUT I CAN’T FIND HIM ANYWHERE, AND HE ISN’T ANSWERING HIS PHONE…”  
“Ah, don’t worry. He’ll turn up when he runs out of ketchup.” Grillby sniggered. “Now, what can I get you?”   
“GIVE ME YOUR CLEANEST THING.” Papyrus instructed, and Grillby proceeded to place a dusty ashtray in front of Papyrus. He then moved his eyes to the female skeleton that had joined Papyrus at the bar, and flinched in surprise.   
“Wow, a girl skeleton?” Grillby gasped. “I didn’t know there were any skelegirls around here. What can I get you, Beautiful?”   
“Uh…” Serif choked, staring at Grillby. W… Wow. 

She… couldn’t speak. Actually, she couldn’t breathe either. As soon as she laid her eyes upon him Serif found herself breathless, as if someone had sucked all the air out of the room. This was… Grillby? Grillby as a guy? She was… Or rather, he was… He was really… attractive. Like, hugely… Well – Grillby always was a fire monster, but this version of her was _hot_. Ba-dum tss…  
“Hey?” Grillby looked at Serif. “You okay?”   
“y… yep.” Serif whimpered. Oh no, this was so awkward… This was wrong! It was **Grillby**! Grillby was one of her best friends! Maybe that was part of it… He wasn’t just good-looking, he had that who comfortable ‘I feel like I know you’ thing going on. Ugh… _“stop it!”_ Serif thought to herself. _“you have a boyfriend!”_ She thought as hard as she could about the goat man that was waiting for her at home, trying her best to keep her eyes off Grillby. Her boyfriend was probably worried sick about her, wondering where she was and if she was okay… Hmm. Serif smiled slightly as she thought about him. He was the best… And he had a killer sense of humour –  
“Okay, so what are you having?” Grillby’s voice dragged Serif out of her thoughts.   
“uh – ketchup please. just… loads of ketchup.” Serif whimpered.   
“Haha. Papyrus, you sure this isn’t just Sans in pink?” Grillby sniggered.   
“DON’T BE RIDICULOUS. WHY WOULD I WANT TO COME IN HERE WITH SANS WHEN I CAN JUST SEE HIM AT HOME?” Papyrus scolded.   
“Good point. Anyway, here you go.” Grillby said, and smiled at Serif as he handed her a squeezy bottle of ketchup.   
“t-thanks…” She uttered weakly, trying her best to keep her _cool_ as Grillby the fire monster stared at her. She placed the end of the ketchup bottle in her mouth and bit down on it, grinding her teeth against the plastic in an attempt to fight back her urge to scream.   
“You’re welcome.” Grillby smiled, and winked at her. “Just don’t get any on your face.”

_Splat_!  
_“Hey!”_ In another timeline, a female Grillby frowned at Sans, annoyed by the huge blob on ketchup that was now on her vest.   
“oh – i’m so sorry!” Sans gasped, after accidentally squeezing his ketchup bottle too hard when this ridiculously hot version of Grillby said something that could be inferred as sexual.   
“Dude – you spilt all over me!” Grillby frowned.   
“s… stop talking…” Sans mumbled too quiet for Grillby to hear, as he put his life’s supply of concentration into to stopping himself screaming. He looked at Grillby, a deep blue blush forming on his cheeks. “i’m really sorry.” He said sincerely. “i’ll pay for the dry-cleaning…” Not that he had any money to do that with; he was using Serif’s tab right now. Uh… well, maybe he could pay Grillby some other way… _“ **no**!”_ He silently scolded himself. _“stop it!”_  
“Don’t worry, it’s only ketchup.” Grillby giggled. “Serif makes a mess all over my bar every time she comes here, it’s kind of nice to get some skele-mess just on me for a change. At least you didn’t fire onto my face.”   
“why are you talking like this…?” sans groaned, clutching the sides of his skull in agony. Okay, this _had_ to be a setup. Somebody was really laughing at his expense right now…   
“Just be careful.” Grillby said. She removed her stained waistcoat, revealing a tight shirt underneath with her top two buttons undone. Sans gulped as he stared at her.   
_“seriously, what’s the matter with you!”_ He silently yelled at himself. _“you have a girlfriend, you creep! And this girl isn’t even from your universe! and it’s **grillby**!”_ Sans let out a short sigh, and turned to the tall skelegirl that had accompanied him, desperate for a distraction. “sooo, pris. tell me about serif. she sounds pretty cool.” He grinned.   
“OH MY GOD YEAH, SHE’S SO COOL!” Pristina exclaimed in an even more eccentric manner than Papyrus. “I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO MEET HER, YOU TWO ARE GOING TO GET ALONG SO WELL! OH – BUT LET ME WARN YOU, SHE’S SUPER MESSY! AND SHE DOESN’T WEAR MAKEUP, SO SHE MIGHT NOT LOOK AT HOT AS ME AT FIRST GLANCE, BUT SHE HAS A REALLY STRONG NATURAL BEAUTY!”   
“i’ll bet.” Sans smiled, studying Pristina. Her face was kind of similar to Papyrus, except she wore blusher on her cheeks and eye-shadow above her eyes, and mascara. Heh. It was pretty funny, seeing Pap in makeup. Sans kind of wanted to take a picture… But he was pretty sure he’d never be able to forget that. Or female Grillby… that memory was _burned_ in.   
_“ARE YOU OKAY?”_  
“mm-hm!” Back in Sans’s universe, Serif nodded as she looked at Papyrus, after squeezing the ketchup bottle too hard and causing herself to gag and splutter over the huge about of ketchup that had hit the back of her skull. Wow, this was embarrassing… She was looking like such a dork.   
“Easy, Tiger.” Grillby laughed. “You shouldn’t drink so much at once, you’ll choke.”   
“mm!” Serif squealed, her cheeks bright pink as she looked at him. _Eep_.  
“Here.” Grillby placed a glass of water in front of her, and smiled.   
“t-thanks.” Serif whimpered. She grabbed the water and drank, refusing to look at Grillby. Oh this was so awkward… _“you have a **boyfriend**!”_ She scolded herself. Yeah well, someone should tell her cheeks – they were on _fire_! … Hah. Maybe this was how Grillby felt all the time. It kind of sucked. Totally _uncool_.

Meanwhile, in the seat beside her, Papyrus was going through some mental agony of his own. He tried his best to keep his breathing normal as he stared at Serif, but he couldn’t control himself no matter how hard he tried. She just made him feel so nervous – she really was so pretty! And she was smart and a nice person, and… argh. Papyrus tried to look away, but he just couldn’t take his eyes off the tiny drop of water that had spilt onto her skull, right where her lips would be if she had any. If… if he had lips too, then they could… _Noooo_!  
“ARE YOU FINISHED WITH THIS?” Papyrus asked, grabbing the glass of water that was still half full.   
“yeah.” Serif nodded.   
“THANKS!” Papyrus huffed, and threw the water over himself. Ah… That was better. There was no better way to cool off around a hot girl than by throwing water over yourself. … … Oh no! But she was still here! And now he was feeling hot again…  
“Dude, you’ve just thrown water all over my floor.” Grillby frowned.   
“SORRY! IS IT TOO CLEAN FOR YOU NOW?” Papyrus yelled back as loudly and as fiercely as he could, his voice riddled with frustration. As soon as he spoke the words he stopped, and his face darkened. Oh, no…What had he just done? That was so rude of him. Curses! He shouldn’t act that way around a lady! She’d never like him now! “I’M SORRY, GRILLBY…” Papyrus uttered sincerely. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME.”   
“i think it was that glass of water you threw over yourself.” Serif sniggered.   
“YOU’RE COMPLETELY RIGHT!” Papyrus gasped. “YOU’RE SO SMART.” He gazed at her, and sighed. Wow… She had the best answer for everything, and she had such a beautiful voice to go with it… Ah. There was no doubt about it. It was completely, one-hundred-per-cent official. The Great Papyrus had fallen… in love. So… What was he supposed to do now? Without even thinking, Papyrus started to talk. “S-SERIF…” He began.   
“yeah?” Serif smiled back, her eyes glowing slightly in such a pretty way.   
“I…” Papyrus stammered, then he suddenly stopped when the realisation of what he was doing hit him. Wait – what was he saying? Was he really going to tell her? Right now? What if she thought he was coming on too strong? Maybe they should get to know each other first – make friends a little. Yes! That was the best idea! He should get friend-zoned first, and wait until they became best friends that got on really well, and then she would definitely like him back! Nyeh heh heh! “I WAS WONDERING… ABOUT YOU.” Papyrus said.   
“oh…”

Serif shifted uncomfortably. Dammit… She’d been worried about this. What was she supposed to tell him? She couldn’t tell him the truth – if she did, she’d have to explain all about the lab, and the machine, and Gaster… Papyrus couldn’t know any of that. Hm… … Welp. It looked like she had no other choice. She felt kind of bad, but she’d have to lie to him. It was the only way to go.   
“WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?” Papyrus asked.   
“oh, you know…” Serif answered evasively. “here and there.” She waited for his response, hoping that her vague answer was good enough.   
“WOW, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT PLACE!” Papyrus exclaimed. “YOU’LL HAVE TO TAKE ME SOMETIME.”   
“sure.” Serif smiled. Phew! Got away with it.   
“HOW COME I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU BEFORE?” Papyrus asked. Oh, dammit… Did he really have to know? “THE UNDERGROUND ISN’T THAT BIG. HAVE YOU LIVED HERE LONG?”   
“of course. my whole life.” Serif answered, and started to make stuff up. “you know… you probably have seen me here before, pap. maybe you were just too busy to notice.”   
“I… I DOUBT THAT.” Papyrus uttered quietly. Yeah, right. How would he not notice _her_? She was the most noticeable person he’d ever seen. “BUT YOU DON’T LIVE IN SNOWDIN, DO YOU?”   
“well…” Serif hesitated. She really didn’t want to lie to him… But what if she said yes? Then she’d really have to think of why he’d never seen her before, and then everybody else in Snowdin would say they hadn’t seen her either… It would just raise too many questions. So… Yeah. She had to lie to him. It was the only way to stop him asking about her. “no.” Serif said. “i, uh… i’m from hotland.”   
“OH.” Papyrus replied. Serif remained silent, waiting for any follow-up questions that may come. Almost… almost. 

_Phew_. Serif relaxed a little. Well, good. At least she’d put an end to his asking. What a relief – “WHERE ABOUTS IN HOTLAND?” Papyrus demanded, causing Serif’s face to fall a little. It was the first of many questions he’d thought of during that moment of silence. “WHAT’S IT LIKE LIVING IN HOTLAND?” Papyrus continued. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALL THE WAY OUT HERE? HOW LONG ARE YOU STAYING FOR? DO YOU HAVE A PLACE TO STAY? DO YOU WANT TO STAY IN MY BED – **OH**! WHAT AM I SAYING? WHAT I MEANT WAS, IS IT JUST YOU AND YOUR SISTER OR DO YOU HAVE A MYSTERIOUS MOTHER WHO STRANGELY DISAPPEARED THAT PRISTINA KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT? DO YOU HAVE A JOB? ARE YOU INTO SCIENCE? DO YOU LIKE ACTION FIGURES? DO YOU WANT TO SEE MY COLLECTION? IF YOU GET A MALE LADYBIRD, IS IT CALLED A MANBIRD? WHY IS AN ORANGE JUST CALLED AN ORANGE, BUT A LEMON ISN’T CALLED A YELLOW? IF A TREE FALLS DOWN, BUT NOBODY HEARS IT BECAUSE OF ALL THE NOISE THEY’RE MAKING THEMSELVES, DOES IT STILL MAKE A SOUND?”   
“uhh….” Serif groaned, and grabbed the sides of her skull. Couldn’t he at least only ask one question at a time?

XXXXX

“okay.” Serif breathed, completely exhausted after answering Papyrus’s many questions, one after the other. Finally, to finish off… “that last one’s to do with relativity, i think.” She said. “it’s like – is it really called a ‘sound’ if nobody can hear it? is a sound only something that’s heard or perceived by others –”  
“I WAS REALLY JUST LOOKING FOR A ‘YES’ OR ‘NO’ WITH THAT ONE.” Papyrus stated, interrupting her.   
“well… then **no**.” Serif replied, figuring it would be the shortest answer, with the least amount of follow-up required.   
“WHY?”   
“ _ **oh my god, pap**_!” Serif cried, mentally drained. “do you really want to know?”   
“NOT REALLY…” Papyrus admitted. He lowered his eyes, blushing slightly. “I JUST… LIKE THE SOUND OF YOUR VOICE.”   
“oh…” Serif uttered, staring at him. “… thanks?” Heh. Her voice? That was a new one. Maybe she reminded him of Sans.   
“YOU’RE WELCOME.” Papyrus said. 

He looked at her. “SO… JUST TO RECAP – YOU’RE FROM HOTLAND, YOU JUST GOT FIRED FROM YOUR JOB AS A SCIENCE PROP, AND YOU DECIDED TO GO BACKPACKING THROUGH THE UNDERGROUND?”   
“yep.” Serif nodded.   
“BUT YOU DON’T HAVE A BACKPACK.” Papyrus commented.   
“uh… yeah, i…” Serif uttered, trying to think of yet another story to make up. This was exhausting! Who knew that pretending not to be from an alternate timeline would be such hard work. “i… don’t really have much stuff. everything i need is in my pockets and my bra.” She said.   
“YOUR…” Papyrus choked, his cheeks darkening as he moved his eyes to her chest. Oh… wowie. He – he had no idea she had… But she didn’t look like - - well… maybe they were hidden by her hoodie. “UH…” Papyrus’s breathing quickened as he grew more nervous. What… what was he supposed to say now? Why was she even talking about her bra? Was she… was she _flirting_ with him?   
“yeah.” Serif nodded, causing Papyrus to fall off his stool as he grossly misinterpreted that single word. “whoa!” Serif gasped, and hopped off her bar stool. “pap – are you okay?”   
“FINE!” Papyrus screamed, leaping to his feet.

Serif flinched as he grabbed hold of her, his entire body trembling as he pulled her against him in a wild fit of overexcitement nerves. “YOU – YOU SAID YES.” Papyrus panted. “I… I DIDN’T EVEN ASK IT OUT LOUD.”   
“ask what?” Serif frowned in confusion. “i meant – yeah, i have a bra.” She said. “but you know, i’m a skeleton, so i don’t really have anything to put there…” She pulled away from Papyrus enough to put her hand down the front of her hoodie, and pulled out a ketchup sachet. “so i just use it to store ketchup and mayonnaise. cool, right?” Serif grinned, her face lighting up in delight. 

Papyrus stared at Serif in awe, his jaw slowly dropping. K… Ketchup? She didn’t have any… ‘girl lumps’, so she used it to store… ketchup? That… That was…  
“THAT’S SUCH AN EFFICIENT USE OF CLOTHING!” Papyrus exclaimed, hugely impressed by her creativity.   
“hah. you think so?” Serif giggled. “pris says it’s gross. she thinks i should stuff it with chicken fillets, like she does. but, uh… the only problem is, she uses _real_ chicken fillets – they kind of make her clothes smell after a while.” She shrugged. “but… at least she’s stopped using frozen chicken, so she’s a lot drier than she used to be.” She looked at Papyrus, and her eyes twinkled pink as she prepared herself for pun. “ _Bone_ dry.”   
“OH – NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus laughed loudly, despite feeling both amused and terribly appalled by that awful pun. “YOU’RE MUCH FUNNIER THAN MY BROTHER. MAYBE WHEN HE COMES HOME, YOU CAN STICK AROUND AND HELP HIM WORK ON HIS SENSE OF HUMOUR.”   
“you mean his sense of _humerus_?” Serif grinned. Wow, she was on a roll!   
“OH… NYEH HEH HEH. YES…” Papyrus half-laughed, not really impressed with that one. Well… She was awful at jokes, but she had to have one flaw. Everything else about her was perfect…  
“anyway,”

Serif looked at Papyrus. “what were you talking about just now? when you said you asked me something?”   
“HUH?” Papyrus blinked. What was she…? … Oh. _**Oh**_! He gasped, suddenly horrified as he realised what had happened and what she had meant by the word ‘yeah’. Oh… Oh no! He’d completely misinterpreted the situation! He’d thought she was flirting with him – but she wasn’t! And now - - what could he say? Maybe if he asked her, she’d… “FORGET ABOUT IT!” Papyrus insisted, waving his hand desperately. “I – I WAS JUST… PRACTICING BEING IN LOVE. YOU KNOW – FOR WHEN IT EVENTUALLY HAPPENS. NOT NOW, OF COURSE.”   
“oh.” Serif uttered. That was kind of weird… Papyrus kept acting weird like that. Serif couldn’t figure out why.   
“ANYWAY!” Papyrus began, swiftly moving on. “YOU SAID YOU WANT TO SEE MY ACTION FIGURES, RIGHT?”   
“yeah, sure.” Serif smiled. “that sounds cool, pap.”   
“AND… YOU SAID YOU DON’T HAVE A PLACE TO STAY TONIGHT.” Papyrus continued.   
“no?”   
“SO… INSTEAD OF STAYING AT THE INN, WHICH IS COMPLETELY LACKING IN ACTION FIGURES…” Papyrus said, his bones starting to tremble one by one as he stared at the beautiful skele-vision that was before him, gazing back at him with those enchanting pink eyes. “WOULD YOU… LIKE TO… STAY AT… MY HOUSE?”   
“huh?” Serif blinked. His house? … Hm. Well, that would be kind of cool. She did want to look around there after all, but… “where would i sleep?”   
“OH, WELL… SEEING AS YOU’D BE IN MY ROOM ANYWAY, LOOKING AT MY ACTION FIGURES AND EVERYTHING…” Papyrus uttered. “IT WOULD ONLY MAKE SENSE… FOR YOU TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THEM, SO YOU CAN ENJOY IT WHILE YOU SLEEP ON THE SOFA.”   
“oh yeah, the sofa.” Serif replied. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d slept there. Sometimes she’d crash in front of the sofa in her universe when she was watching TV and was too lazy to go upstairs. Pristina kind of hated that… which was part of the reason why Serif did it. “sure.” Serif nodded, and smiled at Papyrus. “sounds like fun.”   
“R-REALLY?” Papyrus gasped. Oh, wowie! She said yes! She was going to stay at his! Arrrgh, this was so exciting! He could feel his cheeks burning and his soul dancing. This was wonderful! It was perfect! He was going to show her the best time ever! First, he would cook her his finest spaghetti, and then, when she was already well on her way to falling in love with him after consuming such a delicious meal, they could watch his favourite game show and she could marvel at how he knew the answer to every question – even when the host said it was wrong! Then, finally, when Sans came back they could all have a bedtime story together like one big happy family, and Serif would fall in love with Papyrus for the rest of eternity! Nyeh heh heh! “LET’S GO!” Papyrus exclaimed. “SEE YA, GRILLBY!”   
“hey – **aii**!” Serif shrieked as Papyrus grabbed her hand and bolted towards the door.   
“Bye, Pap.” Grillby answered from behind the bar. He looked at Serif, and winked. “See ya, Honeybones.”   
“ _ **eee**_!” Serif squealed nervously; it was all she could do as Papyrus dragged her outside.


	3. One Awkward Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance for the risqué humour... I watched a lot of Love Hina in my teens (unfortunately, many years ago!)  
> And sorry Alphys, I like you but you seem to be my target in this chapter. Enjoy!

“AND SOMETIMES I LIKE TO ARRANGE THEM LIKE THIS.”  
“uh-huh…”  
“AND SOMETIMES LIKE THIS – LIKE THEY’RE UNDER ATTACK AND THEY HAVE TO HAVE A REALLY COOL BATTLE.”  
“yeah… that’s cool, pap.” Serif said as she watched Papyrus rearrange his action figures. They were alone in his room, which was kind of interesting to see. It was about as clean and tidy as Pristina’s, but a lot more masculine. Pristina didn’t have action figures, she just had a collection of dolls, and her room was decorated with brighter colours. She didn’t sleep in a racing car either; Pristina’s bed was shaped like a princess carriage. Serif preferred the race car… It was pretty cool. Heh. She smiled as she watched Papyrus playing so passionately with his action figures; he was so into them. Pristina liked to brush her dolls’ hair a lot, and she was really OCD about who touched them and how they were arranged. Serif was _never_ allowed to touch Pristina’s dolls. … Hm. Was that the same here too…? “hey.” Serif began, her curiosity far too quickly getting the better of her. She was kind of hoping that Papyrus would react the same way as Pristina, just for comedy value.  
“YEAH, WHAT?” Papyrus asked, slightly annoyed at the distraction. He’d become so engrossed in his action figures that he’d almost forgotten that Serif was there. Argh! What did she want? He was trying to arrange these robots in the coolest possible way to impress her, and she was totally killing his concentration! Why was she distracting him now? Stupid girl. She didn’t understand action figures with her pink girl brain. She didn’t get how much concentration and expertise they required – the kind that only The Great Papyrus had!   
“can i touch one?”

Papyrus suddenly froze on the spot, and hoped to God he’d misheard her. T… Touch one…? But she… She hadn’t been sterilised. What if her hands were dirty…? Oh… Oh, no! This was the worst thing that could possibly happen! If he said no, she’d think he was being mean and then she would never fall in love with him, but if he said yes… She would totally mess up his action figures! She wouldn’t know how to arrange them – she didn’t have any training! But wait… Maybe Papyrus could train her… _**Yes**_! that was the best idea ever! Once again, The Great Papyrus had thought of an ingenious solution to this impossible problem!   
“OKAY!” Papyrus exclaimed, suddenly looking at Serif with a terrifying amount of enthusiasm. “BUT FIRST, YOU NEED TRAINING! DON’T WORRY – I’LL TRAIN YOU TO BE JUST AS GOOD AN ACTION FIGURE HANDLER AS ME! … … WELL…” He paused for a moment. “ALMOST AS GOOD. NOBODY CAN BE AS GOOD AS ME, IT’S JUST NOT POSSIBLE.”   
“training…?” Serif sweat dropped. Ohhhh boy, now she was regretting asking. She’d only asked to touch them as a joke, to see if he’d go just as crazy as Pristina… Now it sounded like she was about to do some hard work. That was the complete opposite of what Serif wanted.   
“FIRST – YOU HAVE TO CLEAN YOUR HANDS!” Papyrus began. “YOU CAN’T TOUCH ACTION FIGURES IF YOU’RE DIRTY.”   
“well… my hands are already clean, but whatever.” Serif shrugged. Welp. Maybe she had some ketchup residue on them. Better check.

Papyrus’s pupils slowly widened as Serif’s tongue emerged from her mouth. She raised her hands to her face, and started to lick her fingers. One… by one. Uhhhh… Papyrus stiffened a little. Why was that so… not-look-awayable? For some reason, Papyrus couldn’t avert his eyes. He was trying – he was trying really hard not to stare, but… he had no idea how pretty Serif’s tongue was. It was pink and shiny, and… Nyehhh… Papyrus started to feel funny. For some reason, his cheeks started burning, and he felt really warm. Boiling, actually. Like he was about to explode. This was… weird. Why was he suddenly breathing so fast…? Why did he feel… fidgety?

Serif ran her tongue up the last one of her digits, oblivious to the mental agony she was putting Papyrus through, and looked at him. “nah, you were right. i had some ketchup on them.” She giggled, blushing slightly in embarrassment. She hadn’t even noticed. She must have been too distracted by that Grillby… Uhhh, that had been awkward. That was definitely the most awkward moment that could ever be. Nothing could top it, right? “am i good now?” Serif asked.   
“OH… Y-YEAH.” Papyrus choked, completely topping the awkward moment that had occurred in Grillby’s. “YOU’RE…” He stared at her mouth, where her tongue had gone back into hiding. Would it come out again…? Uh… Maybe later, when they were eating dinner. Maybe they could trade forks… What? No! That was gross! It was the absolute best way to spread germs! And – talking about germs, “YOUR HANDS ARE STICKY NOW!” Papyrus yelled, his face bright red as he became extremely flustered. He had no idea what to feel – Serif was driving him crazy in a good, crush-like way, and yet at the same time he was **infuriated** that she could even think he’d let her touch his action figures with sticky hands! What was wrong with her? “GO TO THE BATHROOM AND WASH THEM PROPERLY!” Papyrus ordered. “WITH SOAP! AND MAKE SURE YOU DRY THEM AS WELL, I DON’T WANT MY COLLECTION TO GET WET!”   
“jeez, pap.” Serif groaned. Now she _really_ regretted asking. She didn’t even want to touch those stupid toys! _Sigh_. Whatever. She had to admit, he kind of had a point. Her hands were pretty sticky. “fine, give me a minute –”  
“WAIT!” Papyrus gasped, stopping Serif as she made her way towards the door. Serif looked at him in confusion. What did he want now? “I DIDN’T SHOW YOU WHERE THE BATHROOM WAS.” Papyrus said. Oh… right. He didn’t, did he? Serif wasn’t supposed to know…  
“well… you know.” Serif shrugged, quickly thinking on her feet. Literally. She was standing up, after all. “i, uh… i guess it’d be the room that isn’t immediately visible in this house, but it’s definitely there because you guys shower?”   
“… YES.” Papyrus answered. “THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT. YOU’RE… SO GOOD AT DETECTIVE WORK.”   
“hah. thanks.” Serif laughed. “back soon.”

She left the room, and as soon as she was gone Papyrus fell to his knees, becoming nothing more than a tormented wreck on the floor with two action figures still in his hands.   
“OH MY GOD SHE’S LIKE THE COOLEST GIRL EVER…” He groaned to himself. “HOW AM I GOING TO MAKE HER LIKE ME, GUYS?” He looked down at the action figures in his hand, and proceeded to talk in two robotic voices.   
“JUST TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL.” He said, moving one figure in time to his speech.   
“NO! YOU CAN’T DO THAT UNTIL YOU JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD, WHY WOULD A GIRL LIKE THAT WANT TO GO OUT WITH A LOSER?” He spoke again, this time using a different voice and moving the second action figure.   
“HMM… I DON’T MUCH CARE FOR YOUR TONE.” Papyrus said, frowning at the second figure. He turned to the first. “I THINK I’M GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU, MR. LOVE ROBOT.”   
“WELL OF COURSE YOU’LL LISTEN TO HIM, HE’S GIVING YOU THE EASY OPTION!” Papyrus once again voiced the second robot. “BUT NOBODY LIKES A GUY WHO TAKES THE EASY ROUTE, YOU BIG STUPID LOSER –”  
“ **STOP BEING MEAN TO ME**!” Papyrus screamed in his own voice, and threw his skull against the floor in despair. “WHY IS BEING IN LOVE SO HARD? NYEH HEH HEH HEH!” He wailed loudly, almost coming to tears as his frustration grew. “NYEH NYEH NYEH N –”

_Knock knock_. Suddenly Papyrus’s grieving was interrupted by a firm knock on the door. Wow, that was loud. It could only be one person…  
“pap?” Serif called from elsewhere in the house. “do you want me to get the door?”   
“NO – DON’T DO THAT!” Papyrus yelled back, leaping to his feet. “SHE’LL NOOGIE YOU FOR SURE!” He set the action figures down on his desk, and bolted downstairs. 

Serif emerged from the bathroom and entered the lounge just in time to see Papyrus opening the door to two women.   
“hey.” She uttered, coming up beside Papyrus. “look – clean and dry.” She teasingly brushed her hand against Papyrus’s cheek, which caused him to stiffen and turn bright red.   
“OH… MY GOD.” Papyrus whimpered quietly, much to Serif’s bewilderment. What was up with him? 

She moved her eyes to the two women that were making their way into the house, and gazed at them in confusion. They looked kind of familiar… One was a fish woman with red hair and blue skin, and the other looked like some kind of yellow dinosaur in a lab coat, with glasses… … Oh! Were these Undyrus and Salphy? Hah. They looked pretty cool. Salphy sure was different… Not so many horns.   
“Hey Pap!” The fish woman grinned as she and her companion stepped further into the house. “We were just in the area and thought we’d pop by.” She moved her eyes to Serif. “Who’s the broad?”   
“OH – UH… THIS IS SERIF. SERIF, THIS IS UNDYNE AND ALPHYS.” Papyrus said. He looked at Undyne. “SERIF’S NEW IT TOWN, AND SHE’S STAYING HERE TONIGHT.” He uttered. “WE’RE ABOUT TO HAVE DINNER. SO, YOU KNOW… NICE TO SEE YOU UNDYNE, BUT…”  
“Oh great, I’m starving!” Undyne exclaimed. “Room for two more?”   
“… I DON’T THINK IT SOUNDED THAT WAY.” Papyrus frowned.   
“Don’t worry about it, I read between the lines.” Undyne said.   
“ **THEN YOU CAN’T READ**!” Papyrus screamed, becoming flustered once again.  
“Whatever. I’m gonna use the bathroom, then I’ll help you with dinner. You wanna put something nice in her mouth, don’t you?” Undyne grinned and headed for the bathroom, but not before slapping Papyrus hard on the back, sending him flying into the wall.   
“UHHH…” Papyrus groaned, his head hurting from its collision with the wall and his face turning bright red as Undyne’s last words gave him a _really_ weird feeling. 

Serif looked at Alphys, feeling slightly unnerved by the way Alphys was staring at her. Like… she was really staring. It was pretty creepy.   
“uh… hi?” Serif uttered.   
“Y-You’re… a female skeleton?” Alphys stammered.   
“yep.” Serif nodded. “sure am.”   
“… C… Can I…” Alphys choked, her cheeks darkening a little as she stared at what was the hottest pile of bones she’d ever seen. “Can I… s-study you…?”  
“uh…” Serif sweat dropped. “sure, i guess.” She looked at Alphys. Hm… Actually, maybe Alphys would be able to help her get home. She could keep a secret, couldn’t she…? Could Serif trust her not to say anything to Papyrus? 

_Beep_! Suddenly, Alphys’s pocket started beeping.   
“Oh!” Alphys gasped, and pulled out some kind of little device. “Oh… O-Oh my God…” She stammered, staring down at the device.   
“what’s that?” Serif questioned.   
“I-It’s an alien detector.” Alphys answered. “It detects aliens.”   
“aliens?” Serif blinked.   
“Y-Yes.” Alphys nodded. “E-Earlier today, I-I noticed that the world was… different. I-I don’t know how to explain it fully in words that you’ll understand, but… it’s as if there’s a-a matter – an object, that doesn’t belong here.” Uh-oh… Serif became filled with dread. Crap… She’d been rumbled! “T-There’s a strange pattern in this universe, that doesn’t belong… This device is supposed to detect the alien.” Alphys continued. “It lead us here to Snowdin, but now it-it’s really going crazy.” She gazed at the device, trying to figure out why it had suddenly started beeping. Then, as she realised the source of this alien pattern, her face started to turn pale. She looked at Serif, and trembled. “W-Where did you say you were from again…?”  
“uh…” Serif choked. Crap crap crap crap!   
“HEY!” 

All of a suddenly Papyrus leapt up beside the two women and grinned at them. “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” He demanded, causing Serif to relax again. _Phew._  
_“pap, you’re a legend!”_ She thought to herself. “nothing!” Serif beamed, grateful beyond believe for the distraction of Papyrus. “hey – i got an idea.” She said. “seeing as undyne and alphys are gonna be staying for dinner, why don’t we have sans join us as well? you and undyne can go and find him, and me and alphys will stay here and, uh… … clean.”   
“OH…” Papyrus uttered, seeming disappointed. What, Sans as well? But – he wanted _less_ people here, not more! He was never going to make Serif fall for him at this rate! … … Nyehhh. Well… If Undyne and Alphys were going to stay anyway, then he might as well find Sans. He was kind of worried about him… “FINE.” Papyrus said reluctantly. “UNDYNE!!” He yelled through the house.   
“ **What**?” Undyne yelled back from the bathroom.   
“YOU AND ME ARE GOING TO FIND SANS, AND SERIF AND ALPHYS ARE STAYING HERE TO DO WOMEN STUFF!” Papyrus yelled.   
“ **Ha**! Nerds!” Undyne exclaimed as she came back from the bathroom. “Sure, sounds good.” She leaned over to plant a kiss on Alphys’s cheek, and tapped her back. “See you later.”   
“W-Wait!” Alphys stammered, staring with wide eyes at the beeping device in her hand. “U-Undyne –”  
“heyyyy so alphys,” Serif grinned, putting her arm around the frightened dinosaur. She pulled the trembling Alphys against her, her arm painfully digging into Alphys’s throat, almost choking her. “have you ever had a bad time in your life? because if you have, i’d _keep quiet_ about it if i were you. you don’t want to _kill_ the mood.”   
“W-What?” Alphys squealed, her shaking becoming uncontrollable as she tried to understand Serif. Was she… _threatening_ her?   
“What a weird conversation.” Undyne frowned. “Good look with her, Alphys.”   
“H-Help me…” Alphys whimpered too quietly for anyone to hear as Serif dug her arm into her voice box. She watched helplessly, trapped under Serif’s grasp as Undyne and Papyrus left the house, leaving her alone with a psychotic alien skeleton. 

As soon as they were gone, Serif breathed a sigh of relief and released Alphys, who proceeded to cough and wildly gasp for breath.   
“sorry about that.” Serif said.   
“Y-You…” Alphys shrieked, still trembling. “You’re an alien!”   
“yeah – i’m from another universe.” Serif nodded. “but i swear, i’m not going to hurt you – i just didn’t want papyrus to know. i need you to help me get home.”   
“A-Another… u-universe?” Alphys stammered, backing up.   
“yeah – don’t worry.” Serif approached Alphys, and smiled at her. “i’m not here to hurt you –”  
“ **Aii**!” Alphys screamed, flinching away as Serif attempted to touch her shoulder. “Wh-What do you want!”   
“just your help.” Serif answered. “listen… it’s a long story, but uh… hah.” She laughed sheepishly, and looked at Alphys. “i’m sans.”   
“S-Sans…?”

Alphys stared at Serif in awe. She… She was… She was Sans? Sans from… another universe? But… but this didn’t make sense. What… What would she be doing here? And since when was there another universe? And why was Sans a girl…? … Oh. _Oh_! “S-Sans!” Alphys gasped, blushing. “I-I had no idea you were so unhappy in your body…”  
“what?” Serif blinked.   
“S-So I suppose i-in your universe you had the confidence to make the change…” Alphys said, and offered a supportive smile. “Good for you. I-I suppose people are more accepting where you come from? O-Or is it just easier to get the op?”   
“wha – **no**!” Serif cried. “i didn’t have a sex change! i was born a girl! and where i come from, you and undyne are boys!”   
“B-Boys…?” Alphys repeated. She paused for a moment, and started to envision herself and Undyne as men. Oh… men…? What would Undyne look like as a man…? He must be so tough, with huge muscles and a big… spear. “ _ **Oh my God**_!” Alphys shrieked, her entire face suddenly turning bright red. “Do you have a picture?” She demanded.   
“uh… no. sorry.” Serif answered. “look – i got here in a machine and i’m stuck, and i’m guessing sans is stuck in my universe, so… would you mind helping me get home?”   
“O-Of course.” Alphys nodded. “Um… as long as you really aren’t going to hurt me? O-Or anyone else, for that matter?”   
“no, of course not!” Serif insisted. “i just want to get home – and preferably before my sister’s bedtime.”   
“O-Okay…” Alphys uttered, becoming a little more comfortable. She seemed genuine, at least… She just wanted to get back to her… sister. Her… skeleton… sister. … _Wow_. Alphys felt her cheeks burn as she pictured… NSFW. “D-Do you… need to tuck her into bed?” Alphys asked nervously.   
“yeah. she likes me to be there, and she likes a bedtime story otherwise she gets kind of pissy.” Serif answered.   
“D-Does she… wear pyjamas?” Alphys questioned.   
“uh… yeah?” Serif blinked. That was kind of a weird question…  
“Wh-What, um…” Alphys stammered, her lips becoming dry as she envisioned a skelegirl pyjama party that was becoming more detailed and X-rated by the second. “What are they like, and… Do you… do you get in bed with her, or…?”  
“why are you asking that?” Serif frowned.   
“ _ **No reason, just curious**_!” Alphys screamed, suddenly coming to her senses. “Wh-What machine are you talking about?”   
“come with me. i’ll show you.” Serif answered, and lead Alphys towards the door.

XXXXX

Meanwhile Papyrus and Undyne were making their way through the Underground, searching in vain for Sans.   
“So.” Undyne began, checking the ground for Sans’s footprints. Nothing… But that wasn’t surprising, seeing as he never went anywhere. “That girl… What’s the story?”   
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” Papyrus asked.   
“Well… You only just met her, and she’s staying at your house…”  
“YEAH – BUT – THERE’S A REALLY GOOD REASON FOR THAT!” Papyrus insisted.   
“Yeah?” Undyne looked at him. “What?”   
“I… UH…” Papyrus uttered. Curses! What was he supposed to say? Maybe he should just tell her… She wouldn’t tell Serif, would she? Actually – wait, this was perfect! Undyne had a girlfriend, she could train Papyrus to get one too! Nyeh heh heh! Yet another great idea from The Great Papyrus! “HOW DID YOU GET ALPHYS TO DATE YOU?”   
“Huh? Oh…” Undyne blushed slightly. “I don’t know… We were friends, and then… it just kind of happened.”   
“OH.” Papyrus uttered. “THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NO HELP TO ME.”   
“Sorry.” Undyne shrugged. “I don’t know what else to tell you – all I’d say is, I’d definitely make sure you get friend-zoned first. That worked for me and Alphys.”   
“I’M WORKING ON THAT ALREADY.” Papyrus replied. “BUT… I WANT TO SHOW HER HOW COOL I AM. YOU KNOW – SHOW HER THE ‘GREAT’ IN THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NYEH HEH HEH!”   
“You know, whenever we’re watching anime and there’s a scene where a boy saves a girl from danger, Alphys totally freaks out.” Undyne said. “It’s like, the best way to get her to put out. You know… if I’m willing to dress up as Son Goku, or Tuxedo Mask, or Kero from Cardcaptor Sakura.” She smirked, as she started to think off-topic. “Her favourite outfit is Android 18 though. Or Cell, or Astro Boy… She kind of has a thing for robots –”  
“WHAT IS THE POINT YOU’RE TRYING TO MAKE?” Papyrus demanded, not at all wanting to hear about what Undyne and Alphys got up to in their private time.   
“Oh – yeah, right.” Undyne sniggered shamelessly. “Well, she likes big hero scenes, so maybe you could try that with Serif. You just need to save her from danger.”   
“DANGER?” Papyrus groaned. “WHERE AM I GOING TO FIND DANGER?”

He looked at Undyne, and became increasingly unnerved by the wicked smirk that was now on her face, and the dark twinkling in her eyes. “UH… UNDYNE?”   
“Pap,” Undyne smirked. “We’re going to **make** some danger.”   
“OHHHH…” Papyrus gulped.

XXXXX

“Hm…” Alphys mused as she looked over the machine in Sans’s hidden lab. “T-This has taken quite a beating. I think bringing you here really overloaded it…”  
“yeah, well, can you fix it?” Serif asked.   
“Maybe… but I – I’ll have to transport it to my lab.” Alphys looked at her. “I-I’ll have to come back at night, if you don’t want Papyrus to see it…”  
“yeah – do that. he _cannot_ know about this thing.” Serif nodded. “here’s the key.”

Alphys blinked as she suddenly felt a weight in her pocket, and she dove her hand in to feel that the key to Sans’s lab had magically appeared on her keychain.   
“O-Okay.” She nodded. “But…” She looked at Serif. “W-Why don’t you want Papyrus to know? What were you doing with this machine anyway?”   
“oh, uh…” Serif uttered. Crap… She _really_ didn’t want to tell anyone this one. “i… i was… trying to… pull something out.”   
“S-Some _thing_?” Alphys repeated.   
“uh… yeah.” Serif grinned sheepishly. “ketchup. i… i dropped some ketchup in, and it got scattered across space and time, and i… i felt bad, so i tried to rescue it.” She shrugged in a Sans-like fashion. “next thing i know, i wind up here.”   
“I-I see…” Alphys uttered, not believing her. Please, did Serif really think that _she_ didn’t know a lie when she heard one? Alphys was the master of lies! Well… If Serif didn’t want to tell her what was really in this machine then… that was her choice. But still… What could it be? Alphys was sure she’d seen this machine someplace before – or at least, blueprints for it. She wasn’t completely certain, but when she’d inherited the lab off her predecessor, Alphys was sure she’d come across a set of blueprints that at least looked like this… What had she done with them? Now that she thought of it, Alphys hadn’t looked at those things in a while. They’d been drawn by her predecessor, who had strangely disappeared… … _**Okay**_! Huge can, worms, keep it closed! Alphys’s life was pretty good now, she did _not_ want to get involved in yet another tale of dark and horrible experiments. “I-I’ll fix the machine, to get you home!” Alphys huffed. “But – please don’t tell me anything about it. Literally nothing. I-I don’t even want to know how you learned to operate this.”   
“good, because i don’t want anything getting back to pap.” Serif nodded. “so… can you let me know when you fix it?”   
“Y-Yes.” Alphys nodded. “Uh… here.” She pulled out her cell phone, and handed it to Serif. “I’ll call you on this, and then you can… come and use it. T-Then I want Sans to get it the hell away from me!”   
“sure –” Serif attempted to take the phone from Alphys, when Alphys pulled it back. “uh…” Serif looked at her. “problem?”

Alphys was staring at her again, in a kind of creepy way. She seemed kind of… nervous?   
“Um…” Alphys whimpered. “A-Actually… B-Before you… Would you mind i-if I take some pictures…? F-For… scientific purposes?” She smiled at Serif sheepishly, attempting to keep her breathing as normal as possible. “T-There… there aren’t any female skeletons in our universe…”  
“sure.” Serif nodded. “you want me to pose?”   
“I-If you wouldn’t mind… just removing your hoodie? Just so I can see your…” Alphys gulped, her face slowly and steadily turning red. “… body?”   
“okay.” Serif nodded, oblivious to the intense heat on Alphys’s cheeks and the rapidly increasing beating of her heart. She slipped off her hoodie, revealing a vest that just about covered her ribcage and exposed her spine.   
“Oh my God…” Alphys breathed, her throat turning dry as she stared at Serif’s frame. That was hot… A skeleton, dressed in a tiny vest – wait… was that a bra strap? “D-Do you… have breasts?” Alphys asked nervously.   
“hah. nah.” Serif casually lifted up her top, causing Alphys to almost explode with excitement. Alphys immediately clasped her hands over her mouth, forcing back the wild screams that were trying desperately to escape her as she stared at the orange bra that was on Serif’s ribcage. 

_Snap_. Serif blinked at the sound of Alphys taking a picture with her phone, and she frowned. “you’re not going to show that to anyone, are you?”   
“N-No!” Alphys squealed. “Just me! Um…” She trembled, and had to try her absolute best to keep her tongue in her mouth when she noticed that Serif’s bra cups had an odd… ‘shape’ to them. “W-What…” She stammered. “What are… those lumps?”   
“oh.” Serif laughed, and pulled a ketchup and mayonnaise sachet out of each bra cup. “i store my snacks here. i don’t have anything else to fill it with, after all.”   
“Oh my God…” Alphys uttered hoarsely, her breath catching in her throat.   
“you want one?” Serif offered.   
“ _ **Yes**_!” Alphys screamed, before catching herself. “Um – I-I mean…” She mumbled nervously. “… Yes.”   
“here. take both.” Serif tossed the sachets to Alphys, who caught them clumsily, almost dropping them. “my payment for helping me.”   
“Oh – th-thanks.” Alphys choked. She waited until Serif briefly looked away, and used the opportunity to quickly lick one of the sachets. Ahhh… so bony…  
“you done?” Serif asked, looking back at Alphys.   
“Yes.” Alphys nodded. “Th-Thank –” She stopped in mid-sentence when she noticed something else on Serif. On her hip bones… there was orange string… _“ **OhmyGod**!”_ Alphys silently shrieked to herself. _“A skele-thong?”_  
“heh.” Serif sniggered, noticing that Alphys’s eyes were on her hips. “i know what you’re thinking – and nope.” She turned to the side and lifted up her skirt, revealing a pair of orange girl boxers underneath, which for some reason had a set of thong-like straps attached to them. “fooled ya.” She grinned.   
_Snap snap snap_! Serif sweat dropped, feeling a little uncomfortable as Alphys took an unnecessary amount of pictures. What was up with her…? Serif hoped she didn’t show those to anyone…

XXXXX

“Honey, I’m home!” Back at the Skelebros’s house, Undyne’s voice echoed through the building as she and Papyrus arrived back home.   
_“thank god.”_ Serif thought to herself. Alphys had been staring at her and making weird noises the whole time they’d been gone, it was starting to freak Serif out. “did you find sans?” She asked.   
“NO…” Papyrus answered glumly. “THIS IS WEIRD… IT’S NOT LIKE HIM TO DISAPPEAR FOR SO LONG…”  
“don’t worry, he’ll turn up soon. right, alphys?” Serif looked at Alphys with a grin, who nodded nervously.   
“Y-Yes, well… th-that’s what I’m hoping will happen…” Alphys answered. _“Although… he could have just been erased from the timeline altogether…”_  
“Hey, change of plan.” Undyne announced. “Papyrus and Serif are gonna eat here, and we’ll go home and order a pizza.”   
“Oh… Okay.” Alphys said, trying not to sound too excited as she was secretly thrilled that she wouldn’t have to endure Papyrus and Undyne’s cooking.   
“We’ll see you later, Guys.” Undyne grinned. “Alphys, come on!” She grabbed Alphys and hurriedly left the house, much to the confusion of Serif. Why was she in such a hurry to leave all of a sudden? And come to think of it, why had the plan even been changed?   
“UH… SO.” Papyrus began. “JUST… JUST YOU AND ME…”  
“yep.” Serif smiled.

Papyrus whimpered a little as he stared at her. Oh wow, that smile… Why was she so beautiful? Arrrgh! Being alone with her was so intense! He had to calm down – maybe if he just concentrated on cooking…   
“I’M GOING TO MAKE DINNER!” Papyrus declared. “DO YOU WANT A DRINK?”   
“nah, i’m good thanks –”  
“I MADE YOU A BLOODY MARY!” Papyrus screamed, suddenly leaping at her with a glass of red cocktail.   
“oh – thanks.” Serif smiled. “that’s real thoughtful, making me a tomato drink when you know i like ketchup.”   
“TOMATO?” Papyrus frowned. “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?”   
“well… that’s like the main ingredient in a bloody mary.” Serif answered. “because tomato juice is red, which is where it gets its name.”   
“… OH.” Papyrus uttered. “… THEN… DON’T DRINK THIS. I DON’T THINK IT’S WHAT YOU’RE EXPECTING. IT’S, UH… JUST BLOOD.” He dove into the kitchen, his magical heart racing at a thousand beats per minute as he tried to overcome his sudden embarrassment. Nyeh! Why did he make her drink wrong? **No**! He had to fix this! No… It was okay. It was all okay… So long as he made her the **best** spaghetti in the world, that would totally make up for his blunder! Nyeh heh heh! Better get started! Papyrus started racing around the kitchen, desperate to cook Serif the best meal she would ever have in her life.   
“hah.” Serif giggled to herself, lying down on the sofa. Wow… real blood. That was something else. Hah. Welp, it was the thought that counts. He was so cute. 

_Buzz_. Hm? Serif looked down to see the phone Alphys had given her vibrating. What? Had she figured out how to fix the machine already? She hadn’t even taken it yet! … Oh, wait. It was a picture message. Curious to see what it was, Serif opened the message. Well, what was the worst it could be? It wasn’t like it was going to be some terribly horrific picture of – … … Was that Undyne…? What was she wearing…? “uh…” Serif blushed slightly, unsure of what to do with the picture. Was she… supposed to respond…? Like… maybe she should tell Undyne that Alphys had lent out her phone… … Ugh. This was one awkward day.


	4. The Bedtime Routine

_Clash_! _Smash_!  
“ _CURSES_!”  
“everything okay in there, pap?” Serif called into the kitchen, after hearing the sound of dropped kitchen equipment, followed by a screaming Papyrus.  
“FINE!” Papyrus yelled back. “NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT – I’M JUST TRYING TO GO AS FAST AS I CAN! I DON’T WANT TO KEEP YOU WAITING!”  
“hah.” Serif giggled. That was cute. She got up off the sofa, and made her way into the kitchen where a flustered Papyrus was desperately trying to clean a mountain of half-cooked spaghetti off the floor. “hey.” Serif smiled, crouching down beside him. She placed her hand on his to stop his frantic cleaning, and Papyrus froze on the spot.

He looked at her, his breath catching in his ribcage and his magical heart stopping for a few seconds as the feeling of Serif’s hand on his startled him to the very core of his soul. “don’t rush.” Serif said, oblivious to what a traumatic effect she was having on Papyrus. “it’s okay, i can wait. do you want me to help you?”   
“N-NO…” Papyrus gulped. “IT’S OKAY… YOU’RE – YOU’RE MY GUEST, I COULDN’T POSSIBLY…” He placed his hand on hers without quite realising what he was doing, and as soon as he realised he was touching her his pupils widened. Oh… wowie. _**Wowie**_! They – they were **touching**! Oh, this was so intense! Okay – so – what happened now? They were holding hands, and she wasn’t stopping it… Did that mean she liked him…? Well – she wasn’t doing anything else. She could at least hold his other hand or something – was she completely inexperienced at this? But maybe she was waiting for him… he was the man, after all. So should he… hold her other hand? Or… touch her face…? _**Ahhh**_! This was all so sudden! Papyrus wasn’t ready for this! Who knew that cooking spaghetti for someone you met less than a day ago and knew absently nothing about could be so intimate! So intense and romantic and so wowie and – _**no**_! Papyrus’s heart plummeted to the floor and his pupils dimmed as if he had just been struck down when Serif took back her hand. Why…? Papyrus almost wanted to cry. Why had she done that…? Did he do something wrong…? Why did she kill their intimate moment!   
“okay.” Serif smiled. “welp. let me know if you want my help.”   
“OKAY…” Papyrus mumbled glumly. Serif left the room and Papyrus watched her go, trying his hardest not to weep. No… They’d had a moment… Why did it have to end?

Serif made her way into the living room and was about to return to her seat on the sofa, when something occurred to her. Hm… She looked towards the stairs. Sans’s bedroom was up there… She kind of wanted to see it. It was another version of her own room, after all. Would he mind if she looked…? … Well, she didn’t really mind him looking in her room, so… Yeah. She should do it. If she didn’t mind, then he wouldn’t either, right? Serif made her way up the stairs, and towards Sans’s bedroom door. It was locked. Meh. No worries. She had a key. Would it work…? Yeah! Serif grinned a little as her own bedroom key fit in the lock, and she entered Sans’s room. 

… Wow. Jeez. Serif looked around in awe, giggling to herself at the state of the room. This was a total mess fest! Hah! And Pristina thought Serif’s room was bad – she’d have a meltdown if she saw this place. He could at least put his bed sheets on… Did he really sleep like that? Serif never made her bed, but she at least put covers on the mattress. Why did he even have bed sheets if he wasn’t going to use them? It literally made no sense. Hm… Serif moved her eyes to the middle of the room. There was a treadmill there; Serif had one of those too. Good to know her counterpart liked to keep fit. Not that Serif used the treadmill much… Maybe Sans didn’t either. Serif made her way over to the corner of the room, where there was… What the hell was this? Was this seriously a trash tornado? Hah. Wow.   
“sans, you’re gross.” Serif sniggered. She had a few old papers on the floor herself, but she moved them every once in a while… usually to some place that Pristina would freak out over. It never got bad enough for a tornado to form anyway. Sans really was a slob, huh…? Wow. What an eye-opener. Serif had never thought in her life that a room could be too messy, but _this_ room was too messy. If only Pristina could see it… Serif would pay to see her reaction, it’d be hilarious.   
“SERIF?” Papyrus’s voice suddenly came from outside the room. Crap!   
“uh –” Serif turned around, only to see Papyrus standing there.   
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BROTHER’S ROOM?” Papyrus questioned.   
“oh, uh… just looking.” Serif sweat dropped. Damn… she hadn’t wanted to get caught. “do you think he’d mind?”   
“I GUESS NOT.” Papyrus shrugged. “I DON’T MIND YOU BEING IN MY ROOM, AND I HAVE WAY HIGHER STANDARDS THAN SANS!” He paused, seeming confused. “WASN’T THE DOOR LOCKED?”   
“uh… no.” Serif lied. “it was open.” Oh… now she felt bad. She didn’t want to lie to him.   
“OH.” Papyrus uttered, apparently satisfied with that answer. “WELL THEN, IF SANS ISN’T HOME TONIGHT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL SLEEP IN HERE. IT’S MARGINALLY CLEANER THAN THE SOFA, WHICH IS WHERE HE SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME.”   
“okay.” Serif replied. “thanks.”   
“DINNER’S READY.” Papyrus stated, and immediately bolted downstairs. Serif giggled a little, and followed him. 

XXXXX

Serif slurped at her bloody mary – which Papyrus had remade using tomato juice this time – to wash down the last of what was actually not a bad meal. Not as bad as Serif had expected, anyway… She was a little surprised to see that a boy version of Pristina was actually a better cook. But… then again… Pristina learned everything she knew off Undyrus, so maybe it was just that _his_ counterpart was a better teacher. … Meh. Whatever.   
“you okay, pap?” Serif asked, slightly concerned as she looked at him across the table. He’d hardly touched his dinner… And he looked a little flustered. “are you sick?”   
“N-NO…” Papyrus choked. That was a lie. _**Yes**_ , he was sick! Love sick! Sitting opposite Serif at the dinner table like this, so close and intimate, with just the two of them in the house… He couldn’t move! His cheeks were burning. His breathing was frantic. He felt hot – he had no skin, but he felt ridiculously hot. He could barely take a mouthful of his spaghetti before he started shaking so wildly he almost dropped his fork. This wasn’t cool… This was not at **all** cool! He wanted to tell her… He wanted to tell her everything! But no – he had to stick to the plan! He just needed to finish eating… But he couldn’t! It was just her eyes… and her face, and her smile… _**Arrrgh**_! “CAN YOU GO AND SIT IN THE LOUNGE?” Papyrus screamed. “YOUR FACE IS PUTTING ME OFF MY FOOD!”   
“tch. you’re not all that yourself, you know.” Serif frowned, and stormed out of the kitchen in a sulk. Huh? What? Papyrus blinked in confusion. Why was she mad all of a sudden? All he’d done was ask her to leave because - - _**oh curses no**_! Papyrus froze as he realised the true horror of what he had done. He’d – he’d said – but he didn’t mean it like that! Oh, crap!   
“SERIF!” Papyrus screamed. He wolfed down as much of the spaghetti as he could, briefly choking, and hastily raced after her into the living room. “ **SERIF**!”  
“whoa!”

Serif let out a gasp as The Great Papyrus suddenly dove at her and landed on top of her with a heavy thud, almost breaking the sofa.   
“I DIDN’T MEAN THAT IN A BAD WAY!” Papyrus cried. “I – I MEANT…” Oh, crud. He paused, panicking. Curses! What was he supposed to say now? He’d really got himself into a situation here! If he pretended like he’d wanted to insult her then she would be insulted and she’d never like him, but if he told her the truth, then that would completely go against what he and Undyne had planned. He was supposed to friend zone her first and look totally cool before he confessed his love to her, those were the rules! And rules were **not** there to be broken! Curses curses **curses**!  
“so what did you mean?” Serif demanded. Papyrus flinched, and whimpered a little. Oh… she looked so mad. Maybe he didn’t have to tell her the whole truth, just part of it. If he didn’t actually _confess_ his feelings…  
“I…” Papyrus stammered. “I… I ACTUALLY THINK… YOU HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FACE I’VE EVER SEEN.”   
“what…?” Serif uttered.   
“YES, IT… IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL, THAT… I CAN’T EAT AROUND IT, BECAUSE I JUST KEEP STARING AT IT.” Papyrus spoke nervously, his cheeks getting hotter and hotter with every word that left his mouth. Was he saying too much…? No. No, that didn’t at all sound like he was madly in love with her! That was just an ordinary compliment. He’d say the same thing about Undyne if it was at all true. There was absolutely nothing to worry about –  
“i think i know what’s going on here.” _**Oh crap**_!

Papyrus looked at Serif nervously, and his bones started to shake.   
“YOU DO…?” He whimpered.   
“yeah.” Serif nodded, and offered him a warm smile. “pap…” She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked at him, her pupils softening. “you’re missing sans, aren’t you?”   
“HUH?”   
“well you know, i was thinking… maybe i look kind of like him? uh, not that there’s any reason for me to think that…” Serif said cautiously.   
“NO YOU DON’T!” Papyrus argued. What, Sans? No way! He wasn’t beautiful! “YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT LOOK LIKE SANS! HE’S JUST A LAZYBONES COVERED IN KETCHUP!”   
“hah. he sounds hot.” Serif giggled. “ _red_ hot.”   
“NYEH HEH… WHATEVER.” Papyrus huffed, unimpressed by her food-coloured pun.   
“i think you’re just missing your brother, pap.” Serif said. “don’t worry. he’ll come back, i promise.”   
“I… I KNOW.” Papyrus replied. Why was she saying that…? Of course Sans was coming back! Sans never went anywhere for long! He was probably just asleep somewhere, and he’d forgotten the time… Or maybe he was with his girlfriend and forgot to call. Yeah. That was more likely. That was totally likely! After all, where else could he possibly be?   
“hey.”

Serif’s soft voice caught Papyrus’s attention, dragging him away from his thoughts of Sans. He was a little concerned, actually. Papyrus hadn’t realised it until just now, but it was sort of strange that he literally hadn’t seen Sans all day, and neither had anybody else… … He _was_ at Toriel’s though. Definitely. It was the only possible answer that didn’t involve some kind of time and space travel – and how likely was _that_? Pff! Not very! Nyeh! “i don’t know if you guys have a bedtime routine or anything…” Serif continued. “but if it helps, i can try to fill in for sans?” She looked at Papyrus with gentle eyes that could melt a statue, her pink pupils glowing softly. “i mean… if that will make you feel better?”   
“WH-WHAT?” Papyrus choked. “REALLY?”   
“yeah.” Serif nodded. “sure. after all, i’m kind of hoping that somewhere, someone is doing the same thing for my sister.”   
“WELL… BEFORE YOU CAME HERE, DID YOU ARRANGE A BABYSITTER?” Papyrus asked.   
“uh… no.” Serif uttered.   
“WELL THEN, WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD SOMEONE BE COVERING FOR YOU IN HER BEDTIME ROUTINE?” Papyrus frowned. “IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE AT ALL.”   
“yeah… i guess not.” Serif mumbled. Her face saddened a little as she thought about it. Well… what if Papyrus was right? Maybe Sans wasn’t in her universe – she didn’t know for sure. Maybe Pristina was all alone… Oh, no… Serif’s heart almost broke. Pristina…

Papyrus’s pupils widened as he noticed the sudden look of sadness on Serif’s face. What? Why was she suddenly sad? All he’d said was – _**oh no**_! He’d done it again! **Curses**! He didn’t want to upset her! Nyehhh! This was really going bad!   
“YOU KNOW, I’M SURE SHE’S FINE!” Papyrus frantically cried. “IF SHE’S ANYTHING LIKE ME SHE WILL BE – ALTHOUGH WE BOTH KNOW SHE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO BE LIKE ME!”   
“hah.” Serif giggled, slightly cheered up by how cute he was. “yeah. you’re right. i’m pretty sure someone cool is with her right now.” She looked at him, and smiled. “what’s your bedtime routine, pap?”   
“WELL… MY BROTHER SANS USUALLY TUCKS ME IN, AND THEN HE READS ME A STORY.”   
“kind of like my sister’s.” Serif said. “you want me to do that for you?”   
“T…” Papyrus choked. “TUCK ME… INTO BED?”   
“yeah.” Serif nodded. “and i’ll read you a story. i mean, if you want –”  
“ _ **YES OF COURSE I WANT YOU TO**_ –” Papyrus screamed out at a volume that almost broke the windows, before he quickly gained control of himself. He cleared his throat, and tried to sound cool. “WELL… YES.” He mused. “THAT WOULD BE… … ADEQUATE.”   
“okay.” Serif giggled. She moved out from under Papyrus to sit comfortably on the sofa, and she shifted her gaze onto the TV. “so.” Serif began. “you wanna watch –”  
“WELL, I’M EXHAUSTED!” Papyrus announced, leaping to his feet with all the energy in the world. “TIME TO GO TO BED!”   
“already?” Serif blinked. “it’s pretty early…” Wow. This was new. She could never get Pristina to go to sleep, not without calling it ‘beauty sleep’ and promising it would turn her into a model someday. That day was yet to come…  
“WELL, I HAVE AN EARLY START. I, UH…” Papyrus uttered, trying to think of something to say. “I HAVE TO… RECOVER FROM SOME PRETTY EXCITING DREAMS.”   
“don’t you want to do the dishes first?” Serif asked, kind of shocked that he wanted to leave the kitchen in such a mess. Pristina would never stand for that.   
“OH – OH MY GOD!” Papyrus gasped. “YOU’RE COMPLETELY RIGHT!” He suddenly looked angry at himself – appalled that he ever could forget such a thing. “WAIT HERE!” Papyrus ordered. “I’LL BE RIGHT BACK!” He bolted towards the kitchen, and Serif giggled to herself as she listened to the frantic crashing and banging of Papyrus doing the dishes. Hah. He was so cute. 

XXXXX

“and then fluffy bunny went home, just in time for dinner. the end.” It was unusually early in the evening, and Papyrus was tucked up in bed, having just listened to his favourite bedtime story twice. Serif closed the book and looked at Papyrus, smiling a little. Wow… This version of Pristina was so chilled out. Normally Pristina talked all over the story, asking question after question and trying to guess what happened next… But Papyrus was as good as gold; Serif couldn’t believe how quiet he was. He must be really good at concentrating. … Little did she know, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Papyrus had indeed been sat in silence throughout the whole story, but not because it was normal behaviour for him; he just couldn’t bring himself to move. He sat upright in bed, stiff as a board, while his heart pounded at a thousand beats a minute. He was so nervous. It was her voice… She was literally the best storyteller in the entire underground. He could listen to her forever and ever…   
“COULD YOU… READ IT AGAIN?” Papyrus asked.   
“again?” Serif laughed. “you already heard it twice.”   
“I… LIKE TO HEAR IT THREE TIMES.” Papyrus said. “OR, YOU KNOW… THREE HUNDRED. WHATEVER.”   
“okay.” Serif giggled. “one more, then you’ll go to sleep?”   
“YES!” Papyrus nodded. “I PROMISE! JUST ONE MORE, PLEASE!”   
“okay.” Serif said. “scooch over.”   
“HUH?”

Papyrus’s pupils widened as Serif suddenly moved from her position at the end of his bed, to right next to him. She softly nudged Papyrus, urging him to make room for her beside him. He did so, nervously… wondering what could happen next. Where… where was this going…? “UH…” Papyrus choked, his jaw almost dropping as Serif stretched up her arm over his shoulders and softly pulled his head against her. Oh, wowie… _**Wowie**_!  
“this always helps my sister sleep.” Serif smiled. “lie down.” She gently pushed Papyrus’s skull against her ribcage so that he was lying against her, and she positioned the book in front of them, in the perfect spot for Papyrus to still look at the pictures as he lay against the warmth of her hoodie. She smelt like marie rose sauce… Ahhh and she was so warm and cosy… _**Arrrgh**_! Papyrus had to use every ounce of willpower in his soul to stop himself screaming. He was lying against Serif. _**Serif**_! She had her arm around him, so warm and comfortable… “okay. you comfy?” Serif asked.   
“NYEH!” Papyrus wailed, his skull almost splitting with excitement. Comfy? _**Comfy**_? This was like the best positioned he’d ever been in in his life!   
“i’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Serif giggled, oblivious to the true extent of Papyrus’s comfort. “so. once upon a time there was a fluffy bunny…” Papyrus didn’t hear the rest. He found himself entering some kind of zone, where he heard Serif’s voice but not the words she was saying. Suddenly her beautiful voice turned into music, and each letter she pronounced was a different note. It was as if she were an angel from another world… One where angels drank ketchup and read their boyfriends bedtime stories. Nyeh heh… Papyrus blushed a little. Boyfriend… He wanted to be her boyfriend… He **would** be her boyfriend!   
“I WILL WIN YOU!” Papyrus declared, causing Serif to shriek as he suddenly leapt up into the air and landed on the bed with such force she bounced off the mattress and landed head-first on the floor. _**Ow**_! Serif winced. That hurt! The jerk! “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL FRIEND-ZONE YOU AND WIN THE HEART OF –” Suddenly, Papyrus stopped his exclaiming when he looked down at the empty space on the bed that had previously been occupied by his future girlfriend. Wait, what? Where was Serif?

Papyrus looked around his bed in confusion, searching every inch of the duvet. “SERIF?” He frowned.   
“here!”   
“HUH?” Papyrus followed her voice, to find Serif as nothing more than a pile of bruised bones on the floor. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE?” Papyrus asked.   
“you pushed me, you idiot!” Serif frowned, getting up. “what’s gotten into you?”   
“PUSHED YOU…?” Papyrus repeated in confusion. Pushed her? Since when…? Wait – did he…? … Oh crap! He’d started jumping around in excitement again, hadn’t he? Oh, no! It was too much for her to handle! And now – and now… “OH MY GOD!” Papyrus wailed, his body suddenly becoming overcome with dread. “YOU HATE ME! _**NO**_! NYEHHH!” 

Serif watched in horror as Papyrus became a weeping wreck on the bed, sobbing loudly into his pillow. “I’M SORRY, SERIF! I DIDN’T MEAN TO!”   
“pap –”  
“PLEASE DON’T UN-FRIEND ME!” Papyrus begged, lifting his head up to stare at her with pleading eyes. “I CAN MAKE IT UP TO YOU, I PROMISE! I’LL MAKE YOU A REALLY GOOD BLOODY MARY, WITH EXTRA BLOOD! AND BY THAT I MEAN I’LL BLEND SPAGHETTI INTO IT – WITH EXTRA SAUCE!”   
“uh… no thanks.” Serif sweat dropped, slightly taken aback by his sudden desperation to appease her. Wow. He just went from one extreme to another, didn’t he? He never stopped! Hah. Just like Pris… Serif looked at Papyrus, and smiled slightly as her soul became flooded with warmth. Hah… he really was like a little brother. She couldn’t be mad at him; it wasn’t his fault. That was just how he was. Just like Pristina. “hah. pap, don’t worry.” Serif offered him a smile, and climbed onto the bed to sit next to weeping bundle of bones that was Papyrus. She placed her arm around him, and soothingly grazed her nails down his spine. “it’s okay, i’m not mad. i’m sorry if i made you think that…” She lifted up his chin and gazed down at him warmly, immediately putting an end to Papyrus’s sobbing. “i guess i’m just a little stressed out. you remind me of my sister, you know. i kind of miss her.”   
“OH…” Papyrus mumbled. “WELL… WHY DON’T YOU GO HOME TO HER? I MEAN…” He lowered his eyes, instantly feeling saddened. Well… He didn’t want Serif to go. He loved her – he wanted her to stay forever! But… if being away from her sister was making her sad… He didn’t want her to be sad. “IF YOU WANT TO DO HER BEDTIME ROUTINE, I… I DON’T MIND.” Papyrus uttered. “I’M SURE SANS WILL COME BACK ANY MINUTE, AND THEN HE CAN TAKE OVER. DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME…”  
“papy…” Serif spoke softly.

She held her breath for a moment, trying her best not to look sad. Wow… He was so alone, wasn’t he? He was so sweet, and all by himself… She couldn’t leave him like this! What if Sans didn’t exist anymore…? What would she do? Somebody had to take care of Papyrus… … No. No way – she shouldn’t be thinking like that. If she’d made it into this universe unharmed, there was no reason why Sans wasn’t alive and well in her universe, right? Yeah… Yeah, that made sense. Okay, so she just had to keep thinking like that. It was just for tonight anyhow. Alphys would look at the machine tonight, and tomorrow it’d be fixed and everything would go back to normal. Yeah. Totally. Totally totally. “come on.” Serif pulled back the covers, and gestured for Papyrus to get back in bed. “i’m sure pristina’s fine. let’s finish this.”   
“R-REALLY?” Papyrus gasped, his eyes lighting up. “YOU… YOU WANT TO STAY HERE?”   
“sure i do.” Serif smiled. “you gotta have a bedtime story, right? so come on, let’s do it.”   
“OKAY!” Papyrus exclaimed, and eagerly dove under the covers. Serif giggled, and repositioned herself beside him.   
“okay, so from the beginning.” She began. “once upon a time there was a fluffy bunny…”

Papyrus started to zone out again as he listened to her. He snuggled up against Serif, his head resting on her lap as she read him his favourite story with that musical voice of hers. For some reason, the story sounded better than normal, even though this was the first time he wasn’t really listening to it. He was too busy focusing on how her voice sounded, and how warm and comfortable her body was, and how soothing her fingers were as they lightly stroked his skull… _Nyeh_. This was the best… the best bedtime… Papyrus felt his eyelids start to go heavy. She was just so relaxing. So beautiful, and so… _nyeh_. The best… bedtime ever… “and then fluffy bunny went home, just in time for…” Serif looked down at Papyrus, who was now incredibly still, and breathing a little softer than before. She noticed his eyes closed, and she smiled. “… dinner.” She uttered. “the end.” Hah. Serif felt a little warmed as she gazed down at her baby bro. he was so cute… She kind of wanted to take him home. But, then again… two Pristinas? No. No way. She couldn’t handle that. Hah. Serif giggled to herself and carefully lifted Papyrus, careful not to wake him. She climbed out from under him and gently placed him back down on the bed, then took a moment to gaze at the sleeping skeleton. He was out cold. Hm. He kind of looked like Pristina. Pristina… Was she okay…? She was pretty anal about her bedtime story; if Sans was with her, was he reading it right? Serif could only hope… … No. Whatever. It’d all be back to normal tomorrow anyway. Definitely, right? One hundred per cent. Yeah… “goodnight, papy.” Serif whispered. She brushed her hand across his skull, causing a soft moan to escape his throat. Hah. Cute. Serif put the book back in its place, neat and tidy just the way Pristina liked it, and she took one final glace at Papyrus before she turned the light off and left the room, closing the door behind her.

XXXXX

_Buzz. Buzz._  
“NYEH… HELLO?” A sleepy Papyrus answered his phone, after it had just woken him a couple of hours into his sleep.   
“Pap, you still wanna go ahead with the plan?” Undyne’s voice came from the other end.   
“PLAN…?” Papyrus mumbled, confused in his half asleep state. What plan…? What was she talking about? He tried to think for a moment, struggling to remember… Oh. Wait. _Wait_. He remembered now. The plan. The _**plan**_! “OF COURSE!” Papyrus screamed, leaping out of bed with a great burst of energy. “THE PLAN! YEAH, LET’S DO IT!”   
“Cool!” Undyne replied. “I’m on my way!”


	5. The Date With Papyrus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is done it from Serif and Sans's points of view, I'm not sure which one I prefer... anyway. Enjoy the whatever this is XD

**XXX SERIF XXX**

_Yawn_. Serif rubbed her eye sockets as she stumbled into Sans’s bedroom after putting her little brother to bed. Wow… She hadn’t realised how tired she was. Well, she’d had a really tiring day after all – she’d travelled into another dimension, met a crazily _hot_ version of one of her best friends, and she’d adopted a brother. She’d done more in this single day than she’d ever done in her life… and now she was about to sleep on an old mattress. Oh, jeez… Serif sighed as she looked down at Sans’s primitive bed. Well, she could just make it herself, all the sheets were here… … Nah. He wasn’t that dirty, right?  
“i’m stealing your pjs though.” Serif said, stripping down to her underwear. She took off her bra and dropped it to the floor, not caring to pick them up as an army of ketchup and mayonnaise sachets fell out around it. Serif made her way over to Sans’s drawers, assuming he at least changed his clothes every so often. Well… She was right about that. He did have a drawer with a couple of extra t-shirts and pants in them, and a few socks, none of which were paired up. Actually… none of these socks even matched. How could anyone literally have a draw full of odd socks? Were they at least clean? Serif pulled out a t-shirt, and cautiously sniffed it. … Yeah. It was clean. So he wasn’t a total slob. … Although Papyrus had probably washed this; Pristina did all the washing in Serif’s house. Welp. Anyways. Serif put on the t-shirt, and giggled to herself. Wow. There was kind of a size difference here. The shirt was a little long for her, but it was more the width that surprised Serif. The shoulders were huge! They were almost falling right off her. Sans must be pretty big-boned. Hmm… Serif hadn’t planned to borrow anything except a t-shirt, but now that she was wearing this she kind of wanted to try on all of Sans’s clothes, just to compare. Would he mind? … Nah. He wouldn’t even have to know. She pulled out a pair of shorts, and tried to put them on… “whoa!” Serif blushed slightly, realising that she couldn’t actually get them past her hips. Wow… Was her butt really that big? Come on… “come on!” Serif frowned, and finally managed to drag the fabric over her hip bones. “fuck!” She huffed. Wow, these were tight. Weren’t they stretchy as well? How small was Sans’s pelvis? Okay, she was taking these off. They were way too uncomfortable to sleep in. serif dragged the shorts off, and put them back in the drawer… before realising the laces were pulled tight. Oh. Hah. Okay, that was embarrassing. So that was why she couldn’t get them on. … Still. They were a little smaller than she’d choose… Maybe she did have wider hips than Sans. Meh. Whatever. Time for sleep! Serif made her way over to the bed, and lay down.

XXXXX

It was a couple of hours into Papyrus’s sleep, and after being woken up by a call from Undyne, Papyrus was nervously pacing back and forth in his room. Okay… Okay. This was it. This was the moment where he’d win Serif’s love! In about an hour Undyne would help Papyrus look like a super cool hero, after giving Papyrus time to sweet talk her and shower her with – _**oh curses the gifts**_! He’d gathered them for Serif when he was out with Undyne; he was supposed to bring them in and hide them when Serif wasn’t looking, but he… he’d forgotten all about it! It was Serif… she was just so beautiful she made him forget about everything else… Okay! Anyway! He had to go out and get those gifts, before someone else stole them and used them to woo a woman that could not possibly be as stunning as Serif. Pff! Papyrus pitied that woman! Nyeh! He bolted out of his room and excitedly thundered down the stairs, oblivious to how much noise he was making. It was enough to wake Serif, who had been drifting in and out of her slumber. “mm…” She moaned sleepily, turning over on the mattress. “pris…?” 

_Knock knock_. A heavy thudding on San’s bedroom door sent a shot of fear through Serif’s soul. No… “not now…” She groaned, and buried her face into the mattress. “go away. i already said i was sorry…” She let out an angry sigh, her nails digging into the mattress in her tormented, half-asleep state. “bitch…”  
“ **SERIF**!”  
“ _ **fuck**_!” Serif screamed, suddenly startled into full consciousness as an eccentric Papyrus burst into the room.  
“WAKEY WAKEY PRIN –” Papyrus stopped in mid-sentence, and his jaw dropped when he saw… most of Serif’s body. She was sitting up on the bed, panting slightly as if she’d just been woken up by a really loud and unexpected noise – Papyrus couldn’t imagine what that was. He hadn’t heard anything. But… He couldn’t really think about that right now. She… She was just wearing a t-shirt… it was a little too big for her, and underneath… She was wearing underwear, right…? Wowie… Papyrus’s stopped breathing for a moment. She had really… bony legs. Uhhh…  
“ **pap**.” Serif hissed angrily, steadily coming to her senses. “what’s the matter – huh?” She stared at Papyrus in confusion, noticing that he’d changed his clothes. He was now wearing shorts, a t-shirt that said ‘cool dude’ on it, and a baseball cap… Why was he dressed like that? Was he going on a date with someone?  
“Y-YOU KNOW… THE… THE HUMANS HAVE A LEGEND, I HEARD…” Papyrus whimpered, trying his best not to stare at Serif’s bare legs and thighs. He was failing miserably. “UH… ALPHYS SAID, UH…” He breathed out nervously, and tried his best to stay cool despite the intense burning he felt on his cheeks. Oh wowie… She was so beautiful. “… THAT THERE’S A PRINCESS WHO SLEEPS ON PEAS TO PROVE THAT SHE’S A PRINCESS.” Papyrus said. “OR… SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I WASN’T REALLY LISTENING. I HEARD IT FROM UNDYNE AND SHE HEARD IT FROM ALPHYS, AND I THINK ALPHYS MAKES A LOT OF THIS STUFF UP. AND ON TOP OF THAT, I’M NOT SURE THAT UNDYNE WAS COMPLETELY LISTENING WHEN ALPHYS –”  
“papyrus!” Serif barked. She let out a loud, quick sigh to calm herself, and looked at him. “what’s up?”  
“I – I THINK YOU COULD BE A PRINCESS.” Papyrus stammered. “I MEAN… YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL, AND YOU DON’T DO ANYTHING ALL DAY, SO…” He pulled one hand out from behind his back, and Serif realised for the first time that he was actually hiding his hands. Huh? Why was that? Was he hiding something in them? “I THINK YOU SHOULD SLEEP WITH PEAS.” Papyrus said, and started to approach Serif with an open can of… _mushy_ peas? “IT’LL MAKE YOU EVEN MORE OF A PRINCESS THAN YOU ALREADY ARE.”  
“no!” Serif gasped, her pupils widening. “pap –” But it was too late. The mattress was already coated in mushy peas, right where Serif was about to sleep. “ _pap_!” Serif groaned. “aren’t the peas supposed to go _under_ the mattress?”  
“WHAT?” Papyrus frowned. “BUT THEN SHE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO FEEL IT.”  
“that’s the point of the story!” Serif protested. “because she’s a princess, her skin is so sensitive she can feel the pea through the mattress.”  
“OH.” Papyrus uttered, and his face fell. Oh… so he’d really screwed this up, hadn’t he? Curses! … Oh, wait! “NEVER FEAR, M’LADY!” Papyrus announced. “BECAUSE MY NEXT GIFT WILL BE EVEN BETTER THAN THIS ONE!”  
“is it silence?” Serif moaned, flipping the mattress over. Gross… Would Sans clean this later? Serif had a feeling he probably wouldn’t…  
“NO, FAR FROM IT!” Papyrus announced eagerly. “IT’S A LOT OF WORDS!”  
“what?” 

Serif frowned in confusion, and watched as Papyrus pulled his other hand from behind his back, revealing an elaborate bouquet of flowers. “oh…” Serif uttered. Wow. They looked pretty nice, actually… Had he picked these especially for her? Hah… Cute. Pristina never brought gifts home for Serif; Papyrus and Sans must be really close. “thank you.” Serif smiled sincerely, taking the flowers. “pap, these are really –”  
“Fuck you, you little whore!” One of the flowers screamed angrily at Serif.  
“uh…” Serif sweat dropped as she moved her eyes down to see a flower with yellow petals glaring at her. Wow. It looked pretty angry. It was kind of a weird sight. “you got me… a talking flower?” Wait, wasn’t there a talking flower in her universe…? Yeah, there was… … and that flower was a total bitch!  
“UH – YES!” Papyrus answered nervously, and glared down at the flower. “I TOLD YOU TO BE NICE TO HER!”  
“And I told you to go to Hell!” Flowey the Flower yelled back, and once again turned on Serif. “I hope this loser is worth it, because you know what he did? He **picked me**!” He flicked his stem up to show Serif the badly cut stem that had once been attached to roots. “I’m gonna fucking die now just so this bone-headed retard can get into your skirt and do whatever the hell a couple of talking science props do –”  
“ **FLOWEY I TOLD YOU TO SING TO HER**!” Papyrus screamed, hastily snatching the flower back from Serif before Flowey could embarrass him any further. “YOU’RE MAKING ME LOOK BAD!”  
“You make yourself look bad you big fuckwit – **hey**!” Flowey cried out as Serif grabbed hold of him and stormed over to the window. “Hey! No! Let me go! I can still kill you, you know! Even without roots!” He started to spout a few vines from his stem, but in his weakened state he couldn’t make them grow quickly enough, and before he got a chance to choke Serif to death Flowey found himself hurled out of the window and down onto the freezing snow.  
“humph.” Serif huffed. “i hate that flower.” Serif glared down at the struggling Flowey as he shuffled across the freezing snow, and with an angry sigh she mercilessly slammed the window shut. 

Serif was about to turn back to Papyrus, and hopefully go back to sleep soon, when something occurred to her. Wait… What had Flowey just said…? That Papyrus wanted to get into her skirt…? What was that supposed to mean? Because it sounded like… Did Papyrus…? … Nah. No, surely. They were brother and sister! But then again… Papyrus didn’t know that… … Oh, boy. This was awkward… “uh…” Serif uttered. Jeez. How was she supposed to approach this? “pap…?” She turned around to face Papyrus, who was looking as if he’d just had his heart broken.  
“I’M SORRY, SERIF…” Papyrus said sadly, his once bright pupils fading in woe. “HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SING YOU A ROMANTIC SONG, NOT CALL YOU A WHORE. THAT’S PRETTY MUCH THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I WANTED.”  
“it’s okay.” Serif replied, and offered him a reassuring smile. “the other flowers are beautiful. thanks.”  
“OH, YOU’RE WELCOME!” Papyrus beamed, suddenly cheering up. His pupils brightened immediately and he looked at Serif with a wide, hopeful grin on his face. “THEY AREN’T AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU, THOUGH. I MEAN… THEY SMELL A LOT NICER, BUT YOU WIN ON LOOKS.”  
“yeah… thanks.” Serif uttered. Crap. There it was again. Ah, this was so awkward. Was there any chance at all she could _not_ have this conversation? She wasn’t going to be here much longer, right…? Maybe she could just hold him off until she went home…  
“SERIF…”

Serif stiffened nervously as Papyrus approached her, and he stared down at her with tender eyes. What was up with him? He looked so… loving. He seemed kind of nervous too; he was breathing a little faster, and he was blushing… oh, _no_!  
“pap.” Serif began. “listen,”  
“WAIT.” Papyrus interrupted her. “I HAVE… SOMETHING TO SAY. SOMETHING… PERSONAL.”  
“uh-huh…” Serif sweat dropped. “listen, whatever it is, are you absolutely sure you wanna say it? because, uh… feelings can be confusing, you know?”  
“NO I DON’T KNOW! JUST BE QUIET AND LET ME SAY MY THING!” Papyrus barked, becoming extremely flustered in his nervous state. His heart was racing. He’d never felt so terrified, and yet so excited at the same time. Wowie! “SERIF, YOU’RE… YOU’RE REALLY…”

_**Crash**_! All of a sudden, before Papyrus could speak another word the sound of broken glass filled the room and Undyne burst through the window.  
“Hey!” She cried out, leaping to her feet. Undyne immediately turned her gaze to Serif, and held up her spear. “You! What are you doing in my friend’s house?” She demanded.  
“huh?” Serif blinked. “i’m –”  
“I think you’re bad news, you little nerd!” Undyne snarled. “And guess what? I don’t even like Papyrus all that much either, so once I kill you, I’m gonna go ahead and kill him!”  
“ _kill_?” Serif choked. “what – whoa!” She jumped out of the way, narrowly escaping death as Undyne hurled her spear at her. “what are you doing!” Serif cried.  
“I just said! I’m an evil psychopath and I’m gonna _**kill you**_!” Undyne screamed, and lunged at Serif. “ _Pap, that’s your cue_!” She whispered to the skeleboy, too quietly for Serif to hear.  
“OH – RIGHT!” Papyrus nodded, “NYEH HEH HEH!”

Serif’s pupils widened as Papyrus leapt onto Sans’s desk and struck a heroic pose. “NEVER FEAR, FAIR MAIDEN!” He announced. “FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SAVE YOU FROM THIS PSYCHOTIC FISH!”  
“but – **ugh**!” In the short time it had taken her to look at Papyrus, Serif had let her guard down and was quickly cut off by Undyne’s hands clasping around the her throat.  
“Ha! Not likely, Bone-Boy!” Undyne cackled back at Papyrus. “I’m gonna kill her – and you’re next!”  
“s-st…” Serif tried to cry out, but Undyne’s hand was covering her mouth and nose in an attempt to suffocate her. What the Hell! Why was she doing this? Was this version of Undyrus evil?  
“NYEH!” With a heroic war cry, the fearless Papyrus leapt down from the desk and grabbed Undyne, harshly yanking her away from Serif. “SERIF! STAY BACK!” Papyrus yelled. “I’LL TAKE CARE OF THIS EVIL FIEND – _**OW**_!” His eyes suddenly bulged as Undyne kicked him hard in the shin, causing him to scream in pain.  
“ _Stop crying, you nerd! She’ll think you’re weak_!” Undyne whispered fiercely.  
“ _BUT YOU’RE NOT ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO TRY AND KILL ME_!” Papyrus replied.  
“ _Yeah, but I have to make it look realistic_!” Undyne protested. “ _Now come on_!” She took a fighting stance, and smirked menacingly at Papyrus. “Bring it on, Bonehead!”  
“WHAT – UNDYNE WAIT – _**NYAHH**_!” Papyrus let out a loud cry, which was quickly replaced by a breathless gagging as Undyne punched him right in the middle of his spine.  
“pap!” Serif gasped, watching in horror as Papyrus fell to his knees. Desperate to help, she took a step towards him, but Papyrus soon stopped her.  
“NO!” Papyrus yelled, using his magic to push Serif back. “STAY THERE! I’LL HANDLE THIS!” He glared at Undyne, and climbed to his feet. “OKAY, YOU UGLY FISH HAG! TIME TO TURN YOU INTO A BADLY-MADE PAELLA, WITH EXTRA SPAGHETTI!”  
“‘ _Ugly fish hag_ ’?” Undyne frowned. “ _Pap, tone it down a little – **ugh**_!” She grunted as Papyrus threw his fist straight into her jaw, hitting her much harder than Undyne had expected. Oh, crap! “ _Pap, I think you broke my jaw_!” She quietly gasped.  
“ _SORRY ABOUT THAT_!” Papyrus replied sincerely. “ _IT’S OKAY – I’LL JUST PUNCH IT BACK THE OTHER WAY_!”  
“ _Wait – no, that won’t – **argh**_!” Undyne winced in pain as Papyrus’s fist came at her from the other side, leaving her with jaw fractures on both sides of her face.  
“ _DID I FIX IT_?” Papyrus asked hopefully.  
“Oh – oh, no!” Undyne gasped dramatically, clutching her face. “You’re way too tough for me! I should have known better than to take on The Great Papyrus!”  
“NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus grinned triumphantly. “LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YOU, FISH HAG!” He leaned towards Undyne, and winked. “ _THANKS UNDYNE, YOU’RE REALLY MAKING ME LOOK GOOD_!”  
“ _Hold on, it’s still not convincing enough._ ” Undyne replied. 

She released her jaw, and exhaled. “But I won’t give up that easy – great or not, you’re gonna die!”  
“WHA – NYEH!” Papyrus cried out as Undyne threw herself at him, and the two engaged in some very real, very painful fake combat. Serif watched the scene from the safety of Sans’s bed, oblivious to the fact that it was all for show and desperately trying to decide whether or not she should help Papyrus. He said he didn’t want her to, but Undyne was really tough… but then again, Pap seemed to be able to keep up with her pretty good… “AAH!” Serif flinched at the sound of breaking bones, and her pupils widened as Papyrus fell to the floor with a fracture on his thigh.  
“pap!” Serif gasped.  
“STAY BACK!” Papyrus yelled through his agony, and once again used his magic to push Serif back as she attempted to jump off the bed. “ _U-UNDYNE_ …” He whimpered. “ _YOU BROKE MY LEG_ …”  
“ _Sorry about that! I got carried away_ …” Undyne replied apologetically. “ _But don’t worry, this’ll make you look even cooler_.” She straightened herself up and folded her arms triumphantly, looking down at the wounded Papyrus with pride. “Fuhuhuhuhu! What are you going to do now, ‘The Great Papyrus’? There’s no way a guy with a broken leg could defeat me, it’s just impossible! Nobody in the Underground is that strong or brave, but if such a guy were to exist, he’d definitely be worth dating!”  
“what…?” Serif frowned. That was pretty weird. Why was she saying that…? … Wait… Was this…? Nah. Serif shook her head. No, it couldn’t be…  
“NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus laughed. “WELL, FIEND! PREPARE TO BE SURPRISED! HYA!” He threw a weakened, pitiful attack at Undyne, and she let out an almighty scream.  
“ _ **No**_!” She cried, and dramatically fell to the ground. “I – I’ve been wounded! Oh, I so can’t continue this fight! Even with a broken leg The Great Papyrus has managed to defeat me – **me** , the incredible Undyne!” She let out a loud groan, burying her face in the carpet. “Oh, how humiliating! How –” Undyne paused for a moment, and frowned. “… Pap…” She gagged. “This carpet is covered in stains.”  
“YEAH, I WOULDN’T PUT YOUR FACE NEAR IT IF I WERE YOU.” Papyrus replied. “IT’S NOT EVEN A GOOD IDEA TO WALK BAREFOOT IN HERE.”  
“Gross.” Undyne growled. “Okay!” She jumped up, seemingly unharmed. “Well, it’s clear that The Great Papyrus is definitely the strongest, bravest, most heroic and most handsome dude in the Underground – there’s no doubt at all that he’s totally boyfriend material, and any girl he tries to date should count herself lucky that he’s even looking at her!”  
“oh my god…” Serif groaned, and buried her face in her hands. She understood now. This was… all an act. How bad was Papyrus’s crush on her? Jeez…  
“So, after my humiliating defeat and my fatal wound, I’m gonna leave you two kids to it!” Undyne grinned. “Goodnight!” She winked at Papyrus, and whispered, “ _Nailed it_!” Then she dove out of the broken window, leaving Papyrus alone with Serif.

Serif looked over at Papyrus, and sighed. Okay… She had to address this.  
“pap –”  
“ARE YOU OKAY?” Papyrus demanded, diving over to her. He landed on top of Serif, on his broken leg, and used every ounce of willpower in his body to stop himself screaming as an almighty pain shot through his bones. “MY BEAUTIFUL SERIF – I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SAVED YOU FROM THE FISH MONSTER!”  
“yeah… i saw.” Serif sighed. Wow. He was a mess. He was coated in bone marrow and bruises… it may have been a fake fight, but those were real injuries. Did he really like Serif that much…? But… it was wrong.  
“I’M TOTALLY YOUR HERO!” Papyrus grinned.  
“well… technically…” Serif reluctantly agreed. “but –”  
“YES!” Papyrus exclaimed, throwing his arm into the air in triumph. Serif let out a high-pitched shriek as Papyrus suddenly yanked her into his arms and leapt off the bed. He held her tightly, ignoring the pain as he stood on his broken leg, and he dipped Serif in a dramatic, romantic fashion.  
“uh…” Serif sweat dropped, staring up into Papyrus’s eyes as he gazed down at her.  
“BEAUTIFUL SERIF…” Papyrus uttered. “WILL YOU BE MINE?”  
_“crap.”_ Serif thought to herself. Welp… At least he didn’t have lips.

**XXX SANS XXX**

Far away, in a parallel universe, Sans the Skeleton was familiarising himself with his surroundings – Serif’s bedroom. The first thing he’d noticed was how clean and tidy he was as a girl. The bed actually had sheets on it, for starters. It wasn’t made… the pillows and duvet were kind of everywhere, but there were dressed properly at least. There were only a few pieces of clothing on the floor – Serif didn’t even have enough trash to make a tornado! Wow. Pap would absolutely love this room, which was a weight off Sans’s mind. It did seem like Papyrus would like Serif after all – and as far as Sans knew, that was a good thing. … Hm… anyway. Serif had some pretty weird clothes. Sans nosily looked through her drawers, and sniggered when he saw a group of bras, all with ketchup and mayonnaise sachets in the cups. Wow. She had some pretty creative storage solutions. What was with this underwear though? It was like a thong, but not. Was it some kind of prank? But who would even be looking at her underwear? Maybe Serif was some kind of tease. … Wow. That was a pretty weird thought. … Hm. These skirts seemed a little wider than Sans expected. … … …  
“ohhhh-kay.” Sans sniggered to himself, blushing slightly. “don’t even go there. that’s totally not cool.” Yeah, it wasn’t. That was a really sick thought – who even thought of stuff like that? … But… it wasn’t like Serif was a stranger. She _was_ him. Technically, these clothes kind of belonged to Sans anyway. … … Okay. Okay, just once – it was nothing weird, it was just… Sans was a scientist. Kind of. And scientists experimented, and if he didn’t do it now then he wouldn’t get another chance – Salphy was sure to fix the machine by tomorrow. So… yeah. It was now or never. Yeah. That was justified, right? Okay… Cool. Sans stripped off, and proceeded to dress himself in Serif’s clothing. “whoa!” Sans gasped, staring down at the underwear that felt pretty loose on him. Serif sure had wide hips, didn’t she? Uh… so, these string things… did they just… go here? Sans put the string of her underwear on his hips, and stared down at himself in confusion. This felt kind of weird… it was like boxers, but not. … Okay! Welp, he’d gone this far. Might as well do the rest, right? Sans’s cheeks darkened further as he picked up a bra, and attempted to put it on… _Snap_! “ow!” Sans hissed as the bra strap hit his fingers, after being strained so much it flicked out of Sans’s grasp. It didn’t fit… His ribs were too wide. Heh. Serif must have a smaller torso than him. That was… kind of cute. Well, maybe he didn’t’ have to fasten it. Sans left the bra unfastened, hanging off his shoulders, and moved his eyes to bedroom window to catch his own reflection in the glass. He couldn’t see it all that clearly, but… he looked… pretty weird. Wow. Was he actually doing this? He was stood in another person’s bedroom, wearing underwear that didn’t even belong to him, a weird boxers-thong hybrid thing and an open bra that had ketchup and mayonnaise sachets sticking out of it… Seriously? … Heh. “i look saucy.” Sans grinned, and laughed to himself. Oh, wow. That one was hilarious! He’d have to tell Tori – uh… actually, on second thoughts, maybe it was best if he didn’t tell Toriel about this one… “tori…” Sans sighed, removing the clothes. Wow. He missed her. It had only been a day, but… Sans could hardly remember the last time he’d gone this long without at least texting her. She must be pretty worried about him. Her, and Papyrus… “don’t worry, guys.” Sans quietly spoke. He put Serif’s clothes back in the drawer, and redressed himself just in his own shorts, before making his way onto the bed. Sans lay back and closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. “i’ll come back.” He whispered. “i…” Promise…? He didn’t like making promises. Besides, what if he couldn’t keep it…? What if Salphy couldn’t… No! No no, he had to stop thinking like that! He was going home. Tomorrow. Definitely. “just wait for me.” Sans uttered, and rolled onto his side to fall asleep in the sheet-covered bed. Heh. The last time he’d slept in a bed with sheets was with Tori… and that thought in itself was one hell of a way to make him feel lonely. 

XXXXX

_Knock knock_. “nn…” Sans groaned in his sleep. “pap… go back to bed…”  
“SANS…?” A soft voice that didn’t belong to Papyrus came from outside the room. Who was that…? Oh, crap. Him again… In his confused sleepy state, Sans failed to recognise the voice as Pristina’s.  
“leave me alone…” He moaned, burying his face in the pillow. “please… i’m gonna get you out… just let me… let me sleep…”  
“ ** _WAKEY-WAKEY_**!”  
“wha?” Sans’s eyes snapped open as Pristina’s loud, shrill voice echoed through the room and she burst in with a terrifying amount of enthusiasm.  
“HI!” Pristina beamed, jumping onto the bed.  
“pris…?” Sans groaned, slowly returning to consciousness. He rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on his arm, still covered by the duvet as he looked at her. “why are you – uh…” Sans felt his cheeks darken slightly as he stared at her. Wow… That was… different.  
“WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY NEW PYJAMAS?” Pristina grinned, posing in front of Sans. “I’VE HAD THEM FOR YEARS.”  
“uh…” Sans bit his tongue, trying his best not to laugh. Oh wow. This was so weird! She was wearing pink shorts and a purple vest – the vest said ‘sexy babe’ on it in silver glittery writing, and she was wearing… a wig. A long, blonde wig with the hair tied up into pigtails. Her face was coated heavily in makeup, even more than before, and she was wearing… were those fake lips? On top of stuffing chicken fillets into her empty bra, Pristina now wore fake lips too… Heh. That was hilarious! All Sans could see wad Papyrus dressed like a drag queen – would it be rude if he took a picture? She seemed kind of impressed with herself, after all…  
“WELL?” Pristina frowned, demanding an answer to her question.  
“heh. yeah, they’re nice, pris.” Sans sniggered. Nah. He couldn’t bring himself to do anything that would embarrass her… He didn’t want to upset her. Actually, he just wanted to go back to sleep. “was that all you wanted to show me?”  
“UM… NO.” Pristina answered, her makeup blusher hiding the real blush that was forming on her cheeks. “I… WANT TO SHOW YOU A LOT.”  
“well… can it wait?” Sans asked, sitting up in bed. “it’s the middle of the night, pris.”

Pristina let out a high-pitched squeal, and quickly clasped her hands over her mouth to contain herself as she stared at Sans. Now that he was sitting up the duvet had fallen off him, revealing that he… wasn’t wearing a shirt.  
“OH MY GOD!” Pristina squeaked. “ARE YOU NAKED UNDER THERE?”  
“huh? oh… no.” Sans answered. “i have shorts on.”  
“OH, WOWIE…” Pristina giggled, moving her hands to her cheeks as he blush deepened. “I CAN SEE YOUR RIBS! I HAD NO IDEA THEY LOOKED LIKE THAT!”  
“uh…” Sans sweat dropped. “aren’t they the same as yours, pristina?”  
“ ** _AII_**!” Pristina shrieked, her pupils lighting up in glee as her crush talked about what was under her vest. “OH, SANS! YOU NAUGHTY BOY! YOU SHOULDN’T ASK TO SEE A GIRL’S RIBS!” She exclaimed excitedly. “HOW RUDE!”  
“i – i didn’t –”  
“YOU’RE SUCH A TEASE!” Pristina giggled, and playfully slapped Sans’s shoulder a little too hard.  
“ow!” Sans frowned as a great pain shot through his shoulder blade. Jeez! She almost fractured it!  
“NEXT YOU’LL BE ASKING TO SEE UNDER MY SKIRT!” Pristina continued on, her blush now extending to the top of her skull. “AND I AM **NOT** THAT KIND OF GIRL…” She leaned into him, and crooned, “BUT YOU SHOULD ASK ANYWAY.”  
“wh-what!” Sans gasped. “pris, i’m not gonna ask to look under your skirt! you’re not even wearing a skirt!”  
“HUH?” Pristina blinked, and looked down at her pyjama shorts. “… OH YEAH.” She uttered. Wowie, this was embarrassing… Oh! But wait! “SANS!” Pristina wailed as a thought occurred to her. “HOW WOULD YOU EVEN KNOW THAT? WERE YOU – WERE YOU _LOOKING_?”  
“no!” Sans cried, holding his hands up in defence. “i wasn’t _looking_ , i just saw –”  
“OH, THAT’S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!” Pristina sneered, and then her giggly flirtatious expression suddenly turned sad. “I MEAN… IN MY FANTASIES… WHERE BOYS ARE ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN ME! _**NYEH**_!”  
“whoa.” Sans sweat dropped as Pristina suddenly burst into tears and threw herself down onto the bed, sobbing loudly into the duvet.  
“WHY DON’T BOYS LIKE ME?” Pristina wailed. “I’M NOT UGLY, RIGHT?”  
“no!” Sans protested. “you’re not…” He stared down at her. Well… no, she wasn’t _ugly_ , but it was kind of hard for him to say she was attractive… she was his sister! It was Papyrus in a skirt! Or, shorts in this case. “listen, uh… pris – you have a beautiful soul.” Sans said honestly. “And that’s what counts, right?”  
“WHAT?” Pristina gasped, suddenly springing up. She looked at him excitedly, her tears immediately disappearing, and she wailed, “YOU THINK I’M BEAUTIFUL?”  
“well – your _soul_ is –”  
“NYEH HEH HEH!” Pristina exclaimed, once again clasping her hands onto her burning cheeks. “SANS, IF YOU THINK MY SOUL IS BEAUTIFUL, YOU SHOULD SEE THE REST OF ME!”  
“oh my god…” Sans groaned. This wasn’t happening, was it? Because right now it _really_ seemed like Pristina was attracted to him. She wasn’t, right? She couldn’t be! She was his sister! But then… she didn’t know that. Oh, boy… Sans tried desperately to think of how to resolve this. Was there any chance he could just _not_ address this issue? He was only staying here tonight, right? If he could just hold her off until the morning, then Salphy would send him back home and he wouldn’t have to have a really awkward conversation with his sister. Yeah… Cool. That was the way to go. The ‘do nothing’ approach. Always a winner.  
“SO?”  
“hm?”

Pristina’s voice snatched Sans from his thoughts, and he looked up to see that she was now sitting in his lap. Ohhhh boy. This wasn’t going well… Any chance he could still ignore this?  
“HOW ABOUT IT?” Pristina purred, leaning into him. She placed her fake lips against the side of his head, about where his ear would be, in a re-enactment of a sexy scene she’d seen in a movie. She pushed her hips up, pointing her butt into the air the way she’d read about in her seduction guidebook, and she whispered against Sans’s skull, “DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE REST OF ME?”  
“ohhhhh-kay!” Sans gasped, turning his head away. Oh, jeez. This was horrible! “listen, pris – you’re a really great girl, but –”  
“OH MY GOD, I KNEW IT!” Pristina shrieked excitedly. “YOU **DO** LIKE ME! WELL HOW COULD YOU NOT, RIGHT? I’M LIKE THE SEXIEST GIRL IN THE UNDERGROUND!”  
“yeah, but –”  
“SANS! YOU HAVE TO ASK ME OUT ON A DATE NOW!” Pristina insisted.  
“wha – a date?” Sans cried, his pupils widening. Oh – nonononono!  
“YEAH! WELL I’M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU! I’M TRADITIONAL, YOU KNOW!” Pristina replied stubbornly. “IT’S UP TO **YOU** TO CHASE ME!”  
“but –”

_Smash_! Before Sans could speak another word, he was interrupted by a large, muscular fish man breaking through the window. “u-undyrus?” Sans choked. Oh, great. Could things possibly get any worse? What the hell was Undyrus doing here?  
“Ha!” Undyrus snarled, and glared wickedly at Pristina. “Thought you could get away from me, did you?”  
“AII! HELP ME, SANS!” Pristina screamed, tightly wrapping her arms around Sans’s neck. “HE’S GONNA HURT ME!”  
“hurt you?” Sans frowned. “aren’t you guys friends?”  
“Sure we are, Nerd.” Undyrus smirked. He licked his lips at Pristina and sneered, “ _Close_ friends.” He raised his hand and beckoned her towards him. “Come here, my pretty.”  
“NO – **AII**!” Pristina screamed in fright as Undyrus used his magic to pull her towards him. He grabbed hold of her tightly, and tugged at her shorts.  
“C’mere, Gorgeous! Let me have my way with you!”  
“NO! I DON’T WANT TO! GET OFF ME!” Pristina struggled against Undyne’s harsh grip, but her efforts were futile as he held a very tight, believable grasp on her body. “ _HEY_! _NOT SO HARD, YOU’RE HURTING ME_!” She whispered to him.  
“ _Shut up, I have to make it look realistic_!” Undyrus insisted. “ _Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Me and Salphy do this all the time, he’s into this kind of stuff_.” He shot Sans a wicked glance and snarled, “If I were you I’d get out of here, Nerd. Unless you like to watch.”  
“NO!” Pristina wailed dramatically. “PLEASE! PUT ME DOWN! SANS! SAVE ME – **AII**!” She screamed as Undyrus nibbled her neck, her face turning blue. “ _I’M NOT GOING TO GET SEASICKNESS OFF THAT, AM I_?”  
“ _What, you think that’s spread by fish_?” Undyrus growled, insulted. “ _No Pristina, you’re not_!”

Meanwhile Sans remained sat in bed, trying to make sense of what was going on. What the hell? Was this version of Undyne some kind of evil pervert? That was totally uncool!  
“hey, i’d stop that if i were you.” Sans frowned at Undyrus. “she doesn’t want it.”  
“Oh yeah? Who asked you, Nerd?” Undyrus spat. “Now beat it, me and this gorgeous girl who’s totally, one-hundred percent dateable are about to do some really dirty stuff.” He turned his attention to Pristina and whispered, “ _Pristina, start crying_.”  
“ _WHAT_? _NO_! _HE’LL THINK I’M A TOTAL LOSER_!” Pristina argued.  
“ _No he won’t – he’ll think you’re a helpless princess that needs to be saved by a skele-knight that’s going to marry her immediately after_.” Undyrus said.  
“ _REALLY_?” Pristina gasped.  
“ _Pris, trust me. Me and Salphy watch that hero stuff all the time, this is totally how it goes_.” Undyrus insisted.  
“ _WELL, OKAY_! _IF YOU SAY SO_!”

Pristina took a deep breath, and started to wail at the top of her voice. “ _ **WAAA**_! HELP! PLEASE! HE’S GOING TO HURT ME! NYEHHH! SANS!”  
“what’s your problem, dude?” Sans barked at Undyrus. “are you even into girls?”  
“Well I think I’m about to get into this one.” Undyrus smirked back, and cringed internally at his own disgusting pun.  
“ _THAT WAS BAD_.” Pristina whispered.  
“ _I know, just pretend I never said that_ …” Undyrus mumbled in embarrassment.  
“heh. good one.” San smirked slightly, before turning serious again. “but really, put her down. she already said no.”  
“So what?” Undyrus snorted. “You gonna be a hero and rescue her?”  
“uh…”

Sans watched as Undyrus released Pristina and moved towards him. He towered over Sans, who was about half his height, and stared down at him with evil, yellow eyes and razor-sharp teeth, that Sans could barely make out from down here. The powerful fish man’s fists were clenched and his bulging muscles were tensed and throbbing, his breathing heavy and animalistic… Oh, fuck. Sans was gonna die. “listen, uh…” Sans sweat dropped. “it’s the middle of the night, man. let’s just all go back to sleep and pretend this never – whoa!” His pupils widened and he narrowly dodged as Undyrus hurled his spear at Sans, almost splitting the skeleton in two.  
“You want to be a hero?” Undyrus demanded.  
“not really – hey!” Sans cried out as Undyrus threw a would-be fatal punch at him, but Sans managed to dodge that attack as well. “seriously!” Fuck! Sans dodged another one, and another… Undyrus just kept them coming! What the hell was wrong with this psycho?  
“OH! MY HERO!” Pristina crooned, watched the ‘fight’ between the two boys. She studied Sans’s movements carefully, and after a few minutes of just watching him dodge, Pristina frowned. “AREN’T YOU GOING TO AT LEAST TRY TO KILL HIM? WHAT KIND OF HERO ARE YOU?”  
“are you nuts? his _skin_ is harder than me!” Sans protested. “i’m just gonna tire him out.”  
“YEAH, LIKE HE’S GOING TO GET TIRED BEFORE YOU!” Pristina yelled. “FIGHT BACK, YOU LOSER!”  
“what the hell?” Sans frowned. Okay, so he was fighting a giant fish meathead to stop her from getting raped or worse, and _he_ was the loser? Seriously? Who thinks like that? … Ah, whatever. The sooner he ended this, the sooner he could go back to bed.

Sans kept up his dodging for a few minutes more, waiting for an opportunity to throw a punch at Undyrus… … There! He hurled his fist into the fish man’s bulky frame, and even using all the strength in his body, Sans was sure Undyrus wouldn’t even be able to feel that punch… … but surprisingly, it seemed to work.  
“Oh no… I’ve been defeated!” Undyrus announced dramatically, and fell to the ground. “You have… truly won… this maiden’s love.”  
“her _what_?” Sans cried.  
“Now! I’ll leave you two losers to get married!” Undyrus grinned as he jumped to his feet, completely unharmed. “Laters!” He darted out of the window, leaving Sans alone with Pristina.  
“OH – MY HERO!”  
“wha – whoa!” Sans stumbled backwards, almost falling over as Pristina jumped into his arms.  
“OH SANS – YOU MUST REALLY LOVE ME, TO SAVE ME FROM THE EVIL UNDYRUS!” Pristina exclaimed.  
“yeah…” Sans mumbled sceptically. “you know… he didn’t seem all that injured…”  
“WELL – THAT’S BECAUSE HE WAS SO AFRAID OF YOU, HE GAVE UP BEFORE YOU COULD DO ANY MORE DAMAGE!” Pristina said. She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed her nose against his skull. “OH, SANS… I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU ACTUALLY FOUGHT SOMEONE FOR ME. YOU MUST REALLY LOVE ME!”  
“what? no!” Sans gasped. “pristina –”  
“OH, POOR SANS – DID HE HURT YOU?” Pristina crooned, climbing out of San’s arms. Sans cried out as Pristina picked him up, and he suddenly found himself hurled onto the bed with Pristina on top of him. “DON’T WORRY.” Pristina giggled, trailing her nail down his ribcage. “I’LL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, MY HANDSOME HERO.”  
“no!” Sans yelped. “pristina!” He threw his hand out to push her back, and froze when Pristina let out a sharp gasp. What? What was wrong with her? She was staring at him all of a sudden; it was kind of creepy…  
“OH – OH MY GOD!” Pristina squealed, her entire skull turning bright red. “SAN! YOU’RE SO FORWARD! YOU MUST LIKE ME EVEN MORE THAN I THOUGHT!”  
“uh… what?” Sans frowned. What was she talking about? Oh… wait. He looked down at his hand… and his pupils widened. Oh, crap! It was – it was on her chest, on what felt like a very warm uncooked, chicken breast. No! No, he – he didn’t mean to touch her on – he just threw his hand onto her chest, to push her away! It was the same way he’d push Papyrus, he didn’t think – oh, crap! “no!” Sans protested, snatching his hand back. He looked at her in desperation. “i – i didn’t mean to do that! i was trying to –”  
“OH… WELL, I SUPPOSE IT’S THE LEAST I CAN DO.” Pristina giggled. “FOR MY HERO…” She positioned herself on top of him, and slid her palms down Sans’s chest. “JUST… BE GENTLE WITH ME. IF YOU WANT YOU CAN BORROW SOME LIPS, I HAVE A SPARE PAIR –”  
“ _ **no**_!” Sans screamed, leaping off the bed before Pristina’s hands could get any lower. “pristina, listen to me!” He yelled. “i’m **not** attracted to you, okay? i don’t want to kiss you – i don’t even want to go on a date with you! i have a girlfriend, and even if i didn’t - - you’re just not my type, okay? we are **not** compatible!”

He exhaled loudly, calming himself after his outburst. Okay… Okay, surely she’d get it now. He couldn’t have made it more clear – oh, crap… Sans’s pupils dimmed, and he became flooded with an overwhelming sense of guilt when he saw the look on Pristina’s face. She looked heartbroken… “pristina –”  
“I GET IT!” Pristina wailed. “IT – IT’S FINE!”  
“pris –”  
“NO!” Pristina turned her head away and scrunched her eyes shut, desperately trying to fight back her tears. “DON’T… DON’T SAY ANYTHING ELSE. I DIDN’T REALISE YOU HAD A GIRLFRIEND… BUT YOU’RE RIGHT. WHY **WOULD** YOU BE ATTRACTED TO ME? I DON’T EVEN LOOK LIKE A REAL GIRL!”  
“no! pristina, that’s not –”  
“GOODNIGHT, SANS!” Pristina huffed. “SORRY TO BOTHER YOU!” She jumped off the bed and stormed out of the room, covering her eyes so Sans couldn’t see her tears. Oh, no… Sans felt like crap. He’d definitely been too hard on her. Now what was he supposed to do…?  
_“ **pap**! get off me!”_

Back in Sans’s own universe, Serif broke out of Papyrus’s grasp as he tried to rub his face against hers. “listen!” She yelled. “i’m not into you, okay? i have a boyfriend!”  
“YOU… YOU DO?” Papyrus gasped.  
“yes!” Serif barked. “and even if i didn’t – you’re just not the kind of guy i’d –” Uhh… actually, maybe she shouldn’t say anything else. The look on Papyrus’s face was enough to silence her for all eternity. He looked like he’d just has his heart ripped apart…  
“OH… OH MY GOD.” Papyrus whimpered, his body shaking as he tried his very best to fight back his tears. “I… I’VE BEEN SUCH A FOOL. I’M SORRY, SERIF! I DON’T DESERVE A BEAUTIFUL GIRL LIKE YOU!”  
“no!” Serif gasped. “pap, that’s not –”  
“GOODNIGHT, FAIR MAIDEN! SORRY TO BOTHER YOU!” Papyrus wailed, and bolted out of the room before Serif could see him cry. Oh… crap. Serif let out a sad sigh. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. How was she supposed to fix this now…?


	6. The Bedtime Story

The loud sobbing of The Great Papyrus could be heard down the corridor as Serif made her way to his room. Oh… she felt terrible. She hadn’t meant to upset him… But she _didn’t_ like him in that way – and it would be mean to let him think there was a chance, right? but… maybe she could have handled it better… at least in a way that didn’t make him run out of the room crying!  
“papyrus?” Serif spoke softly, knocking on his bedroom door.  
“NYEH! HE’S ASLEEP!” Came the response from a skeleton that obviously wasn’t asleep.  
“really?” Serif laughed a little. Cute… “well then… i guess he wouldn’t notice if i came in.”  
“YEAH… YEAH HE WOULD.” Came a sobbing response, followed by loud sniffing. “BECAUSE HE JUST WOKE UP.”  
“well… does he want to talk to me?” Serif asked.  
“ _ **NO**_!” Papyrus yelled through the closed door. “HE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO MAKE FUN OF HIM! YOU… YOU HEARTBREAKER!”  
“oh, come on pap!” Serif gasped, opening the door. “i would never make fun of –”

She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw the state Papyrus was in. Aw… now she felt _really_ bad. He was huddled up in bed, covered entirely by the duvet as if he were hiding. She could hear his sobbing; she could see him shaking in dismay… Wow. This was so unlike him. Where had The Great Papyrus gone? “papy…” Serif made her way over to the giant lump on the bed, and placed her hand on its back. “listen –”  
“NO!” Papyrus barked, flinching away from her. “I DON’T NEED YOUR SYMPATHY!”   
“i know.” Serif replied. “but… you know – i didn’t want to hurt you.”   
“I’M NOT HURT!” Papyrus protesting, suddenly yanking the covers back to reveal himself. Hah. He was still wearing his date clothes. “I MEAN, EXCEPT FOR WHEN UNDYNE BROKE MY LEG. THAT HURTS QUITE A LOT, ACTUALLY.”   
“you want me to take a look at it?” Serif offered.   
“YOU’RE GIVING ME MIXED SIGNALS HERE.” Papyrus growled. Serif giggled a little, and offered him a warm smile.   
“sorry.” She said. “i didn’t mean to – to tell the truth, i do really like you, but not as a boyfriend. more like a little brother.”   
“A BROTHER?” Papyrus frowned.   
“yeah.” Serif nodded. “you remind me a lot of my sister, so i guess you’re like a brother to me.”   
“OH…” Papyrus mumbled, his eyes dimming in dismay. “SO… EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE A BOYFRIEND, I WOULDN’T HAVE MUCH OF A CHANCE WITH YOU, WOULD IT? IT’S NOT SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE TO DATE YOUR BROTHER.”   
“no.” Serif agreed. “but… papyrus, why do you even like me? i mean… do you think maybe it’s because i remind you of sans?”   
“BUT YOU DON’T!” Papyrus argued, and turned away from her stubbornly. “STOP TALKING ABOUT SANS! I… I DON’T NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENED TO HIM.”   
“are you worried?” Serif asked.   
“… HE HASN’T CALLED.” Papyrus mumbled. “NORMALLY WHEN HE STAYS AT TORIEL’S, SHE MAKES HIM CALL ME TO LET ME KNOW. AT THE VERY LEAST HE READS ME A BEDTIME STORY OVER THE PHONE… … NO OFFENCE, BUT YOURS WASN’T REALLY THE SAME. I MEAN, IT WAS NICE FOR OTHER REASONS, BUT… … I LIKE THE WAY SANS TELLS THE STORY.”

Serif’s pupils dimmed as an overwhelming sadness suddenly came over her, and she gazed weakly at Papyrus. Wow… Just look at him. He missed Sans so much; she could sense it. She could feel it. So… did that mean Pristina missed her…? Even if Sans was there, it wouldn’t be the same, would it? That was starting to become painfully obvious. Pris was still by herself, the same as Pap… They must feel so lonely. So… maybe that was it. Maybe that was why Papyrus had a crush on Serif. Or at least, he thought he did… Was he just getting confused? Because he missed his brother…  
“papyrus…” Serif uttered. “i’m sure that wherever he is, sans is really sorry he didn’t read you a story. he really wants to be here.”   
“HOW DO YOU KNOW?” Papyrus grunted. “HE DIDN’T EVEN TELL ME HE WAS LEAVING, AND SANS ISN’T REALLY THE LEAVING TYPE. HE ISN’T EVEN THE MOVING TYPE – IT’S HARD ENOUGH JUST TRYING TO GET HIM TO LEAVE FOR WORK. SO, I… I KEEP THINKING… MAYBE SOMETHING... NOT GOOD… HAPPENED.”   
“don’t think like that!” Serif cried. “ _please_!”  
“HM?” 

Papyrus frowned in confusion, noticing a rise in her voice. She sounded pretty upset all of a sudden… Papyrus turned round, to see that Serif’s face had fallen. Her mouth had sunk a little and her pupils were dimmed; she looked like she wanted to cry. “WHAT… WHAT’S THE MATTER?” Papyrus asked. “YOU’RE NOT UPSET ABOUT SANS, ARE YOU?” That was weird. Why would she care about Sans? She never even – … met him… … Oh. Oh, _**wowie**_! “ **OH MY GOD**!” Papyrus screeched, his pupils widening as a thought that made absolute sense suddenly occurred to him. “IS SANS YOUR BOYFRIEND? IS THAT WHY YOU’RE HERE?”   
“wh-what?” Serif choked.   
“OH, AND HERE I AM GOING ON AND ON ABOUT TORIEL! I’M SURE YOU DON’T NEED TO HERE ABOUT THAT!” Papyrus spluttered. “DID YOU EVEN KNOW HE WAS CHEATING ON YOU? I – I HAD NO IDEA, I SWEAR! FRANKLY I’M SURPRISED HOW SANS MANAGED TO GET ONE GIRLFRIEND, LET ALONE TWO!”   
“no – pap, sans isn’t my boyfriend!” Serif protested. “i’ve never even met him!”   
“… OH.” Papyrus uttered, settling down. “WELL THEN… WHY ARE YOU SO SAD? MY CONCERN OVER SANS SEEMS TO BE AFFECTING YOU ON A REALLY PERSONAL LEVEL. IT’S KIND OF WEIRD.”   
“sorry…” Serif said, smiling slightly. “it’s just… reminding me of my sister. i… i really miss her, you know?”   
“SO GO BACK HOME.” Papyrus answered, lying back on his bed. “I’LL BE ALRIGHT ON MY OWN. NYEH…”  
“i’m… not sure if i can go back.” Serif mumbled, and then she gasped a little as she caught herself. Wait… what was she saying? She shouldn’t be saying that stuff to him! He couldn’t know who she was! It wasn’t even true – why would she not be able to go back? … Dammit, she wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to go home – she wished she’d never even switched on that stupid machine! Why did she do that? It wasn’t like that crazy woman even deserved to be set free! … Nah. That wasn’t true… She did. She’d been trapped in there for too long, with no hope of getting out… and now it was happening to Serif. Maybe it was what Serif deserved. Her and Sans. Maybe it was their turn…  
“WHY CAN’T YOU GO BACK?” Papyrus asked, oblivious to the true extent of Serif’s situation. Oh, crap. Now she’d done it. What was she supposed to say? All Serif wanted to tell him was the truth. She was sick of pretending, and to him of all people. She’d spent so long lying to Pristina, it kind of ate away at Serif’s soul. … Hm. Maybe this was her chance. She couldn’t confess to Pristina, but… Papyrus wasn’t quite the same…  
“… hey.” Serif beamed, her eyes lighting up. She looked at Papyrus, and smiled. “let’s have a bedtime story, kiddo. i know it won’t be the same – but we might as well make the most of it while we’re here, right?”   
“NO.” Papyrus replied stubbornly. “I’M BORED OF ALL MY STORIES.”   
“not even fluffy bunny?” Serif asked. “it’s your favourite –”  
“I SAID **NO**!” Papyrus yelled. “ARE YOU DEAF?”   
“okay…” Serif replied. “well… that’s fine, because i had another story in mind anyway. one i guarantee you’ve never heard before.”   
“TRUST ME, I’VE HEARD ALL THE FLUFFY BUNNY STORIES.” Papyrus answered stubbornly.   
“this isn’t a fluffy bunny one.” Serif said. “actually… it’s kind of scary.”   
“S-SCARY?” Papyrus uttered, looking at her curiously. Well, this didn’t sound appropriate for bedtime…   
“yeah… and sad.” Serif nodded. “you wanna hear it…?”  
“… FINE.” Papyrus huffed. “I MEAN, IF YOU _REALLY_ WANT TO TELL IT.”   
“yeah…” Serif mumbled. “i do.”

She stared into space for a moment, once again wondering what the hell she was doing. Why was she telling this story…? She really shouldn’t. If papyrus worked it out… He wouldn’t though, right? But part of Serif wanted to take the risk regardless. Part of her wanted to risk being exposed, for what she’d done… Slowly, the realisation of this whole situation started to hit her. What if she really was trapped here? Forever? What if this was her punishment for what had happened? And for keeping it a secret for so long… Maybe this was all she deserved –  
“ARE YOU GOING TO TELL IT THEN?” Papyrus demanded impatiently. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE INTO THIS.”   
“… yeah.” Serif offered him the best smile she could manage. “okay. get comfortable.”

She watched as Papyrus adjusted his position in bed, resting his head on his pillow and pulling the covers over himself. Hah. Cute. Maybe being his sister forever wouldn’t be so bad… It was better than what had happened to Gaster, after all. Serif should count herself lucky… “okay. uh… once upon a time, there were two sisters, and a mom.”   
“WHAT WERE THEIR NAMES?” Damn. He had to ask that, didn’t he?   
“uh…” Serif sweat dropped. “they were… big sister, little sister, and mom.”   
“THAT’S NOT VERY CREATIVE.” Papyrus frowned.   
“yeah – whatever, that’s not the point of the story.” Serif sighed. Crap. Why was she doing this? It wasn’t like a confession was going to change things. She was still here, and Sans was still there. He wasn’t telling this story to Pristina was he? Oh please, no… Pristina really didn’t need to hear this before bed – she’d be furious with the ending!   
“SORRY.” Papyrus grunted, not seeming all that apologetic. “CARRY ON.”   
“okay.” Serif sighed. “so… one night, big sister woke up feeling really sick. she didn’t know why, but she had this really bad feeling that something was wrong with little sister. so she went to check on her… and little sister wasn’t breathing.”

Papyrus watched Serif, slightly uneased by how this story had begun. He wasn’t expecting it to be scary right from the start… Even Serif seemed pretty scared. Her eyes had dimmed again, and her sad expression had returned. She was really good at making fictional stories sound not that fictional… Weirdly good. “she was just lying there, so still… it was the worst thing big sister had ever seen.”   
“WHAT HAPPENED TO HER…?” Papyrus asked.   
“well, big sister didn’t know.” Serif shrugged. “but mom was a scientist, so she figured little sister had eaten something out of her lab – because little sister was just a baby at the time.”   
“SERIF THIS STORY IS DISGUSTING!” Papyrus yelled. “I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT A SICK BABY!”   
“well… she gets better in the end.” Serif said.   
“OH.” Papyrus grunted. “WELL THEN… HURRY UP AND GET TO THAT PART.”   
“okay.” Serif giggled a little. “well, big sister got her breathing, but she couldn’t make her wake up. so she ran into mom’s lab, because she figured mom could help – she was really good at magic.”   
“SO MOM FIXED HER?”   
“… no.” Serif answered. She looked at Papyrus with a solemn expression on her face, and her pupils disappeared. “mom was the one that poisoned her.”   
“ _ **AHHH**_!” Papyrus yelped, jumping back in his bed. “SERIF! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR FACE?”   
“huh? oh…” Serif’s cheeks darkened slightly in embarrassment, and her pupils returned. Crap. Had they disappeared? She didn’t even notice. “sorry, pap… i get like that when i’m serious.”   
“WELL THEN YOU SHOULD TRY NOT TO BE SERIOUS EVER IN YOUR LIFE!” Papyrus barked. “IT ANNOYS ME HOW SANS LIVES WITH THAT ATTITUDE, BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IT FOR YOU, WEIRD FACE.”   
“thanks…” Serif sweat dropped. “i’ll… try to remember that.”   
“WHY DID MOM POISON LITTLE SISTER?” Papyrus frowned. “THAT’S NOT WHAT MOMS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.”   
“well, that’s exactly what big sister thought.” Serif said. “so she got into a fight with mom.”   
“DID SHE WIN?” Papyrus asked.   
“oh… yeah. she really messed her up.” Serif answered. “she shot a beam of magic at her, and mom held her hands up to defend herself, and it burst right through her palms!”   
“WOWIE!” Papyrus gasped.   
“yeah, it hit her right in the face – you should have seen what it did to her skull. left her looking like a broken light bulb.” Serif sniggered. “she had these crazy huge fractures, i don’t know how she even survived.”   
“SO SHE’S STILL AROUND?” Papyrus asked.   
“… no, pap.” Serif replied. “she’s not.”

She lowered her eyes, and hesitated. What happened next…? Serif wasn’t entirely sure. She’d come to kind of figure it out, over the years… but even so… why was that machine there in the first place? What did Mom plan to do with it…? “there was… this machine.” Serif mumbled. “big sister didn’t really know what it was, but during the fight mom looked kind of scared of it… so big sister threw her in.” She looked at Papyrus, her pupils glowing faintly. “that was a bad thing to do, right? i mean… she didn’t even want to kill her. i swear pap, she didn’t… she was just so mad – about what happened to little sister – so when she saw mom looking scared of this thing, she just lost it. she… she really wanted to hurt mom, like really hurt her. just – in the heat of the moment, you know? she didn’t mean for what happened… she felt really bad afterwards.”   
“WHAT HAPPENED…?” Papyrus uttered. He waited for her response, becoming more uneasy with every second it took. Serif looked… really sad. Like… _really_ sad. Like this story was personal. Did she know these people…? Was this a true story…? “S-SERIF…?” Papyrus spoke cautiously. “ARE YOU… OKAY?”   
“… the machine closed around her. big sister didn’t know how to get mom out.” Serif said. “then all the lights went out, like the machine was overloaded or something… and mom was gone.”   
“GONE WHERE?”   
“hah. everywhere.” Serif smiled slightly. “at least, i think so. big sister studied the machine afterwards, it seemed to be some kind of time manipulation thing. you could use it to travel to different dimensions, or different points in time… so, big sister figured mom was trapped in there, in a void. kind of… here, but not. everywhere and nowhere, you know?”   
“NO.” Papyrus answered bluntly. “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT AT THIS POINT.” He looked at her. “DID BIG SISTER GET MOM OUT?”   
“she tried.” Serif nodded. “but, uh… it didn’t go all that well. in fact, she just ended up getting trapped in another world herself. maybe it was what she deserved. you know… for what she did?”   
“BUT MOM STARTED IT!” Papyrus protested. “SHE TRIED TO HURT LITTLE SISTER – AND BIG SISTER WAS ONLY BEING A GOOD SISTER!”   
“hah. thanks. i’m glad you see it that way.” Serif smiled. “well, little sister was okay in the end. she woke up.”   
“HOW?”   
“i’m not totally sure of that either.” Serif answered. “all i know is, big sister stayed up all night, just… just begging her to wake up. she just kept wishing and wishing, and giving little sister all the magic she had… i don’t know what it was exactly, but little sister woke up somehow. she was okay…” She paused, and smiled slightly. “hah. but it came at a price. i think that uh, with all the wishing, a little piece of big sister’s soul kind of went away – into little sister, maybe. because ever since then, big sister’s been kind of lazy… …” She shrugged. “or, maybe it’s because of the nightmares.”   
“NIGHTMARES…?”  
“uh-huh.” Serif nodded. 

She shuddered, pulling her knees up to her chest. She wasn’t looking at Papyrus, which unnerved him even more. She was just staring into her thoughts, clutching her knees as if she were afraid. Why was she afraid…? This… wasn’t a real story, was it? Oh… now Papyrus was really starting to worry. Who was Serif talking about? What poor people! “they’re horrible, pap.” Serif groaned. “every time big sister goes to sleep all she seems is mom, trapped in that machine… she can hear her screaming – she can hear her… blaming big sister, for everything. ‘you killed me, you killed me’… imagine hearing that every night – it’d drive you crazy.”   
“I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO SLEEP.” Papyrus uttered.   
“well, big sister doesn’t. she gets a little sleep here and there… but then she wakes up so tired, that she naps during the day as well.” Serif replied. “she can hardly concentrate on anything, she never has the energy to do anything…” She laughed. “it gets little sister really mad, because big sister is so sleepy and lazy all the time. she always shows up for work late, or not at all because she’s off sleeping somewhere. It drives little sister crazy.”   
“BUT – BUT THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Papyrus gasped. “BIG SISTER CAN’T HELP IT – IF THAT WAS ME, I WOULD TOTALLY GIVE HER A BREAK!”   
“well – maybe little sister would as well, if she knew about it.” Serif replied. “she doesn’t know any of this. she was too little to even remember mom, and big sister never told her what happened. so as far as little sister’s concerned, big sister’s just lazy.”   
“WELL THEN, SHE SHOULD TELL HER THE TRUTH!” Papyrus huffed.   
“you think so?”

Serif looked at Papyrus, in a way that was making him a little uncomfortable. She looked so serious… What was going on? “if you were little sister… would you want to know all this?”   
“YES!” Papyrus nodded. “ABSOLUTELY!”   
“you’d understand?”   
“YES I WOULD!” Papyrus exclaimed. “IF YOU SEE BIG SISTER AGAIN, YOU SHOULD TELL HER TO EXPLAIN **EVERYTHING** TO LITTLE SISTER!”   
“uh… what do you mean, if i see her again?” Serif spoke nervously. Oh crap. Had she given it away? She didn’t mean to! “it’s just a story.”   
“REALLY?” Papyrus blinked. “BECAUSE YOU SEEM KIND OF UPSET BY IT, SO I THOUGHT IT HAPPENED TO SOMEONE YOU KNEW.”   
“… hah. no.” Serif grinned, forcing her tears back. She couldn’t tell him the truth. He couldn’t know. He _couldn’t_. “no, it… it’s just made up.”   
“OH.” Papyrus said, seeming to believe her. “… WELL THEN, IT’S A TERRIBLE STORY! IT’S DISGUSTING, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU WOULD TELL ME SUCH A HORRIBLE THING RIGHT BEFORE BED!” Papyrus yelled, at a volume that truly demonstrated his annoyance at her for choosing such a bad story. “YOU’RE GOING TO GIVE ME NIGHTMARES!”   
“sorry about that.” Serif apologised sincerely. “i didn’t want to give you nightmares…”  
“IT’S OKAY…” Papyrus huffed. “LUCKILY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS FEARLESS. SO… THIS DIDN’T AFFECT ME AT ALL.”   
“oh, well good.” Serif laughed. 

She allowed her eyes to linger on Papyrus for a moment. Pristina… that was all she saw. Her little sister. The one she… nearly lost. To someone who needed her help. Serif remembered so well; she remembered finding out… Mom was sick. Serif didn’t know at the time, but afterwards… “… she was sick.” Serif said. “mom, i mean.”   
“SICK?” Papyrus repeated.   
“yeah, uh… after it happened – a while after… big sister went into mom’s lab.” Serif began. “you know, to try and find out what had happened. she was hoping to find plans for the machine or something, to explain what it was. but while she was looking she found all these lab entries – like a diary, you know?”   
“A DIARY?”   
“yeah…” Serif nodded. “it was mom. she was in a really dark place. she was so confused, and losing her grip on herself…” Serif’s face twisted. She shivered, and blinked, as if she were fighting back tears. “it was getting darker for her, i mean… when she was reading all this, big sister could just see mom losing more and more of herself. she should have helped her, pap. she should have recognised it, and been there for her. but she was just a kid at the time, she didn’t know the signs, and she didn’t know how to handle what had happened… it wasn’t until she got older, and she thought about it…” Serif lowered her eyes, and hung her head in dismay, much to the shock of Papyrus. Was Serif crying? “she realised she’d really let mom down.”   
“SERIF –”  
“she should have been there for her.” Serif sobbed, her voice cracking in a way that could only make her sound sad. She was crying. She was definitely crying! “she should have helped her.”   
“BUT…”

Papyrus looked at Serif, unsure of what to say. What was wrong with her? She was so upset… Why? It was a sad story, but Serif had heard it before, right? Why was she taking it so bad? Maybe she was more sensitive, because she was a girl and everything. “IT’S… IT’S NOT REAL, RIGHT…?” Papyrus uttered. “IT’s JUST A STORY?”   
“yeah… yeah, of course.” Serif sniffed, and wiped her eyes, finally getting a grip on herself. Jeez, what was she doing? She was going to get him worried! She had to control herself! “sorry – i always cry at sad endings. haha…” She offered Papyrus a weak smile, in a vain attempt to ease him. “that was kind of a bad bedtime story, huh?”   
“IT WAS AWFUL.” Papyrus nodded.   
“sorry…” Serif mumbled.

Papyrus stared at her a moment more. He felt so… lost. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if it was just the story, or the fact that Serif was sad, but he felt kind of sad as well. Sad, and lonely…  
“SERIF…” Papyrus spoke quietly. “IS SANS COMING HOME?”   
“what?” Serif gasped. “y-yeah! sure! why would you even ask that, pap?”   
“IT WOULDN’T BE THE FIRST TIME SOMEBODY WALKED OUT ON ME.” Papyrus grunted. “WHEN I WAS A KID I HAD AN IMAGINARY FRIEND CALLED MISTER SMILEY-HANDS, AND HE LEFT ME TOO.”   
“how does an imaginary friend leave you?” Serif frowned.   
“I DON’T KNOW. JUST ONE DAY HE WASN’T THERE ANYMORE, AND HE WOULDN’T COME BACK NO MATTER HOW MUCH I CALLED FOR HIM.” Papyrus answered.   
“hah.” Serif smiled slightly. “well, my sister had an imaginary friend when she was little as well, but it wasn’t like they disappeared, papyrus… pristina just grew up, and she forgot about them so much that she couldn’t imagine them properly anymore. maybe that’s what happened with you?”   
“YEAH, MAYBE.” Papyrus replied. “I DON’T REMEMBER WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE OR ANYTHING. I GUESS I COULDN’T IMAGINE HIM EVEN IF I TRIED.”   
“yeah, see.” Serif said. “don’t worry. he didn’t leave you – and sans won’t either. i… i promise.”   
“… K.” Papyrus grunted.

Serif took a moment to compose herself, and let out a deep sigh.   
“anyways, um… it’s late. you should go to sleep, papyrus.” She said.   
“UH… SERIF?” Papyrus blushed slightly. “WILL YOU SLEEP WITH ME?” His cheeks darkened even more when she looked at him, and he began flailing in desperation. “NOT LIKE THAT!” Papyrus protested, his bright pupils widening. “I – I DON’T MEAN IN A BOYFRIEND-GIRLFRIEND KIND OF WAY, I JUST MEAN – I… I FEEL… KIND OF… WEIRD. I MEAN, IT’S NOTHING THAT I CAN’T HANDLE, BEING THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND ALL, AND I’M NOT AT ALL AFFECTED BY THAT HORRIFIC STORY YOU JUST TOLD, WHICH WILL IN ALL LIKELIHOOD GIVE ME NIGHTMARES…” He looked at her sheepishly, his pupils softening. “BUT, YOU KNOW… YOU SEEM KIND OF UPSET, SO I THOUGHT MAYBE WE COULD… NOT… BE ALONE?”   
“… okay.” Serif answered without thinking, with every bad feeling in her soul rising to the surface. She didn’t want to leave him. Not while she was in this world. She wanted to go home, to her boyfriend and her sister… but so long as she was here, Papyrus was the closest thing Serif would get to them… and she didn’t want to leave him. “sure.”   
“OKAY – GREAT!” Papyrus nodded. He positioned himself as far against the side of the bed as he could, his spine pressing into its frame. “I’LL SLEEP ALL THE WAY OVER HERE, AND YOU CAN SLEEP ALL THE WAY OVER –” He stopped, suddenly becoming breathless as Serif got into bed and settled down beside him.   
“this is just platonic.” Serif said. “i’m gonna pretend we’re kids, and you’re my brother.”   
“O…KAY.” Papyrus whimpered, trying his best not to tremble as he felt the warmth of Serif’s body against him. She had such a calming aura… even now. “UH…” Papyrus put his arm around her awkwardly, unsure of how he would ever get to sleep. “W-WELL THEN… GOODNIGHT… BIG SISTER.” Nyeh! Curses! He could hardly breathe!   
“hah.” Serif giggled a little, somewhat charmed by Papyrus’s blatant awkwardness. “night, bro.” She closed her eyes, and tried her best to sleep through her nightmares.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, in another universe, Sans the skeleton found himself lying in a princess carriage bed, staring up at the ceiling through the blackness of night. Pristina was fast asleep beside him, after having a major freak-out over the worst bedtime story in the world. Jeez, she was even harder to handle than Papyrus. Sans had had to think of a whole other ending just to calm her down, and imagination had never been one of his strong suits. Still, he thought he’d done a pretty good job. Pristina had liked it, anyway. In the ‘happy ending’ that he’d made up, Big Brother had rescued Dad from the void, and they’d gone home to Little Brother and all lived happily ever after… Heh. Sans kind of hoped that ending would come true, but… it didn’t seem likely. Not at all likely, actually. Truthfully, he’d count himself lucky if he even got home. He didn’t know for sure that he would. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was his void, and it was long overdue. He might end up spending forever trapped here. Here, in a universe that was a lot like his own, but it wasn’t his own. Everything was similar enough for him to occasionally forget that something was wrong, but then things were different enough to remind him of the bitter truth. This wasn’t his home. This hyperactive skeleton beside him was his sibling, but it wasn’t Papyrus. This was his house, but Toriel would never come here… Jesus, Toriel. Toriel… Pap. Hell, even Grillby. Sans was starting to miss them all. This was horrible. He closed his eyes, forcing back his own tears as he tried desperately get to sleep. He’d wake up soon enough though, he knew it. He had a horrible feeling that even in this void, he still wouldn’t be able to escape his nightmares.


	7. The Reason

Serif stared numbly into nothingness as she sat on the sofa, the frantic talking of Papyrus a mere echo in the background.  
“ **SERIF**!” Papyrus screamed. “ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING? I’M TALKING ABOUT MY ACTION FIGURES!”  
“hm…?” Serif grunted, and finally turned her head to look at him. “what did you say, bro?”  
“I WAS TALKING ABOUT MY FIGURES!” Papyrus huffed in annoyance. “YOU KNOW, TO TRY AND MASK HOW AWKWARD IT WAS THAT WE SLEPT TOGETHER.”  
“hah. i wouldn’t put it that way, pap… we shared a bed, but – not in a weird way.” Serif replied.  
“YOU DIDN’T HAVE… AN INAPPROPRIATE DREAM?” Papyrus questioned.  
“uh… no?” Serif sweat dropped. Oh, God… Did he…?  
“ **GREAT**!” Papyrus exclaimed. “ME NEITHER! I WAS JUST… MAKING SURE WE MATCHED!” He offered Serif a wide grin, and laughed nervously. “NYEH HEH… WELL! I HAVE TO GO NOW. LIKE, RIGHT THIS SECOND. MAKE SURE YOU LOCK UP BEHIND YOU!” And then he bolted out of the house, his face bright red.  
“wow.” Serif sighed. Maybe sleeping with him had been a bad idea, he was kind of overreacting to it… But, she’d just felt so… She’d felt lonely. Like, really heartbreakingly lonely, and Papyrus was the only comfort this world had to give… He hadn’t fixed it, though. Serif still felt like her heart was about to fade away. There was still no word from Alphys. Serif kind of wanted to call her, but she knew it would be pointless. Alphys would call the second she found out anything, Serif knew it. If Serif called now just to found out there was no change, that would bum her out even more. … … Hm. Whatever. Maybe she should go for a walk, to clear her head. Serif got up from the sofa, and headed for the door.

XXXXX

She had no idea how long she was walking for. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours… She wasn’t really paying attention to the time, or where she was going for that matter. She had nowhere to be. Not in this world, anyway. Hm… Actually, this was the first time she’d travelled without using one of her shortcuts. Was this how other people travelled? Wow. It didn’t really seem worth it. Hah. Where was she, anyway? Finally deciding to pay attention to her surroundings, Serif put her eyes back into focus. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like now was the right time. Now, specifically. She looked around, taking in the scenery around her… and she laughed. Oh. Wow.   
“drawn, much?” Serif sniggered, somewhat amused that this was where her zoned-out walking had taken her. It was a door. A very special door… In her universe, anyway. She’d first talked to her boyfriend here… Not that they’d been a couple at the time. It was before that human had visited, and after things went down the way they did, Serif had found herself visiting him more and more… Then, one day they were an item. Serif wasn’t really sure how it had happened. It had all started here though. … Hm. 

She sat down in front of it, and leaned against the door. Jeez, what she wouldn’t give to see him… Not even see him – if she could just hear his voice… Hear him laughing at something stupid she’d said. … Hah. _Knock knock_. Serif tapped on the door, not at all expecting an answer. She closed her eyes, and tried to imagine his voice replying…  
“ _Who’s there_?”  
“huh?” Serif blinked, her eyes snapping open when a female voice replied. Oh… crap. Crap! It was him – or – his counterpart… “um…” Serif answered awkwardly. Dammit. Should she answer…? What was she supposed to say? Maybe she should tell a joke… Did this version like jokes? “uh…” Serif sweat dropped, desperately trying to think of a joke. Crap. She couldn’t! This was like the only time in her life she’d ever not been able to think of something to say! **Crap**! She had to say something! Her heart was racing; she felt so nervous! Why? That was stupid! It might not even be him – it could be anybody behind there! And even if it was him – or her – so what? That was a good thing, right? Behind that door was… Serif’s… girlfriend. “… atch.” Serif spoke, finally thinking of something to say.   
“Atch who?” The voice replied.   
“bless you!” Serif grinned, expected to be greeted by an uproar of laughter.   
“… Haha.” Came a somewhat disheartened laugh. Wow. That was kind of surprising. And… disappointing. Maybe in this universe, he didn’t share Serif’s sense of humour. So… how were they even a couple? Unless Sans wasn’t funny either…  
“not your thing, huh?” Serif said.   
“Oh – no, it’s not that.” The voice answered. “You’re hilarious! It’s just… I’m feeling a little down at the moment.”   
“… you are?” Serif uttered. Oh… She didn’t want to hear this…  
“Yes, um… … It’s my boyfriend. I think he met someone else.”   
“what?” 

Serif turned to face the door, her pupils brightening in shock. What the hell? Wait – was that what he thought? No – no, that couldn’t be further from the truth!   
“He didn’t show up for our date, and hasn’t returned my calls… I – I was thinking about going to see him at his house, but I suppose I’m…” The voice began to sob. “I’m afraid of what I’ll find out. What if she’s there with him?”   
“but –”  
“I bet it’s that Muffet!” The voice huffed. “He always did like her baking – he always said he preferred mine, but I never believed it! She doesn’t love him, you know! He’s just the older guy that works at the hot dog stand – he’s just a trophy to her!”   
“okay – stop!” Serif snapped. “look – your boyfriend isn’t cheating on you, okay? he’s… he’s just… … somewhere else.”   
“How do you know?” The voice asked. Well… that was a reasonable question…  
“i… just do.” Serif said. “i… i can feel it, you know? your boyfriend really loves you… don’t you get that?”

There was silence for a long moment, for what felt like an eternity. It was probably just a few seconds. Then… came the sound of sobbing. Loud, agonising sobbing.   
“Th-Thank you!” The voice cried. “You’re very kind.”   
“it’s okay…” Serif mumbled. She scrunched her eyes shut, trying to block out the sound of the woman’s crying. It was so painful to hear… What if he was thinking the same thing? What if he thought Serif had left him for… Who the hell was Muffet anyway? Who else did Serif know? … Wait… could that be… _Incy_? Oh – jeez, no way! That kid was a maniac! Aside from being a psychotic spider that ate anyone that pissed him off, he was just so exhausting! He had way too much energy for Serif to deal with. He was the last person in the Underground that Serif would ever want to date!   
“ _Sniff_. What’s your name?” The voice asked.   
“serif.” Serif replied. “what’s yours?”   
“Toriel.” Toriel… Hah.   
“that’s pretty.” Serif smiled. She rested her head against the door, and closed her eyes. “you really miss him, huh…?”  
“Yes…” Toriel answered. “I’m worried. Cheating is the best case scenario, isn’t it? Because if he hasn’t met someone else, then something awful must have happened…”  
“is that what you’re afraid to find out?”   
“… Yes.”   
“i get it.” Serif said. “but… don’t worry. wherever he is, i bet he’s trying real hard to get back to you.”   
“Oh… you don’t know Sans.” Toriel laughed. “He doesn’t try hard at anything.”   
“hah. yeah i had heard.” Serif smirked a little. “but… i think he’d make an exception for you.”   
“Thank you…” Toriel whimpered. “You’re very kind.”

There was silence for a long moment. Serif wasn’t sure what to say… She knew what she wanted to hear, from him. But this wasn’t her boyfriend. It wouldn’t be the same… “I think I’m going to go for a lie down… Do you mind?”   
“no. go ahead, tori.” Serif replied. She heard movement coming from the other side of the door. Toriel was going away… … “wait!” Serif cried, knocking her palms against the door. “uh… before you go, i…” She felt her cheeks burning as a deep pink blush formed on her face. This was dumb… Why was she even asking this…? “i wanted to… ask you something.”   
“Yes?” Toriel replied.   
“uh…” Serif sweat dropped. Her pupils dimmed as a wave of embarrassment overcame here. This was stupid… this was so, so stupid. It wasn’t even him… “if… if sans were here… what would you say to him?”   
“Oh…” Toriel paused for a moment, and Serif grew more nervous with every second that passed. Please… please say it. She needed to hear it. Please, Tori… “I… I suppose I’d say ‘I love you’… and ‘where the **hell** have you been’!”   
“haha.” Serif closed her eyes, nervously biting her tongue as she felt a few drops of tears escaping her eye sockets. Wow… this was… so dumb. It was so, so dumb. “that’s cute. … can you… say that first part again?”   
“Um… I love you?” Toriel answered awkwardly. “I love you.”   
“… i love you too.” Serif smiled, her forehead resting against the door as a few light tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the soft snow. “… sorry.” She whispered. “you, uh… probably think i’m weird.”   
“No no – I was um… leaving anyway, remember?” Toriel replied, sounding somewhat grateful that she had an excuse to get away. Hah. Oh well. Serif didn’t blame her. This was weird. “… It was nice talking to you, Serif.”   
“you too.” Serif replied. “take care, toriel.” She listened to the sound of movement, the sound of Toriel walking away… and she sighed. Wow. Serif wiped her eyes. That was… intense. She didn’t realise just how much she missed him. Alphys had to get her back home. She **had** to!

Serif pulled out the phone Alphys had given her. She was going to call Alphys. Even if there was no news, it was better than sitting around here getting depressed. She looked down, ready to dial Alphys’s number… when Serif’s pupils widened. What the hell? She had ten missed calls and a text message! Oh, crap! This thing was on silent! When did it – crap! Serif hurriedly opened the message, her pupils brightening as she read it.   
‘come to lab – need to talk. Alphys xx’ Wait – come to the lab? Had she fixed the machine? **Crap**! Serif leapt to her feet, and took the quickest shortcut she knew to Hotland.

XXXXX

Serif bolted through the door of Alphys’s lab, and immediately settled her gaze upon the lizard scientist.   
“a-alphys!” She panted frantically. “sorry – my phone was on silent – did you fix it?”   
“U-Um… n-not exactly…” Alphys stammered.   
“what?” Serif frowned. What the _hell_? So why did she…? “i don’t understand. why did you call me if it isn’t fixed?” Oh… wait… Alphys didn’t want some kind of… payment for this, did she? Maybe those pictures she took of Serif weren’t just for scientific purposes… “look – um… you’re cute, but i’m with someone.” Serif sweat dropped. “and i’m not into girls…”  
“Wh-What!” Alphys gasped, her eyes widening. “Th-That’s your first thought? No! I-I’m with someone too, if you remember! I wanted to talk to you about the machine!”   
“oh…” Serif sighed, a little relieved. Well… not really, actually. This wasn’t sounding like all was well and good with the fixing of the machine… Jeez, what was wrong _now_? Serif just wanted to go home! “sorry…” She looked at Alphys. “what’s up?” Wait… This was unsettling. Alphys looked a little nervous… She was staring at Serif awkwardly, like she really didn’t want to say whatever it was she was about to say. What was going on…? “alphys…?” Serif uttered. “come on… what is it?”   
“W-Well… I, um… I-I don’t really know how to begin…” Alphys stammered. She held up a small device in her hand, the one she’d used to detect Serif. “B-Basically, I got the machine working, and when I did I… I found a log, a-a record of… the activity around it. Um… this device does the same thing, it-it detects things that… don’t belong. Y-You know… things that exist, o-outside of our timeline…”  
“okay.” Serif shrugged. “so?”   
“W-Well… the last thing it recorded was this… force. At-At first I thought it was you, but it doesn’t have the same pattern… It appeared just a second before you were sent into this universe, and it was very strong – I think that was what broke the machine.”   
“a force?” Serif repeated. What…?   
“Y-Yes.” Alphys nodded. “I think it… controlled the machine somehow. Th-That’s how you ended up here.   
“what!” Serif gasped. “so you mean, something did this to me? like – deliberately?”   
“W-Well… That really depends on what this thing is.” Alphys answered timidly. “I-I mean… it can’t do anything ‘deliberately’ unless it has a conscience… Haha…” She sweat dropped, and looked at Serif nervously. “But… yes. this thing, whatever it was… it’s the reason you’re here, and Sans is there, and until I can figure out what it is, and how to stop it… I-I’m afraid it will just keep getting in your way. Y-You see… it won’t let me turn the machine on. Whenever I power it up, I get a reading of that force, and then it shuts the machine down again.”   
“but…”

Serif froze, her heavy mind suddenly racing. This didn’t make sense… What was this force? Why was it doing this? What the hell was going on!   
“S-Serif, um…” Alphys met Serif’s eyes. “I-I know I said I wouldn’t ask, but… what exactly were you trying to do with this? B-Because, this force… I found it somewhere in the logs. It appeared a while back… the last time the machine was used, actually.” She looked at Serif, trembling slightly. “It-It wasn’t there before then, but… it seems to be the reason the machine broke the first time round – it was overloaded. I-I don’t want to dig, but… it’s like… um…” She lowered her eyes, and she seemed to be considering whether or not she should say it. She was thinking it, but she might be wrong… There might be another reason, another explanation. Something other than… this.   
“alphys…?” Serif whispered. “what… are you telling me…?”  
“… Wh-What happened to my predecessor…?” 

There is was. Alphys didn’t need to say anymore, Serif knew exactly what she was getting at. Everyone had heard the rumours; everyone had heard the name. Gaster. Fell into her own creation, scattered across space and time, becoming nothing more than… a force.   
“you think this is her?” Serif uttered. “my – … gaster?”

Alphys’s heart almost stopped as she looked at Serif. Suddenly, Serif looked terrifying. Her pupils were dimming, so much that they were almost gone from her sockets. She was standing stiffly, not moving an inch… Except in her left eye. That pupil was brightening again, steadily. A faint, pink mist began to surround it…  
“I-I don’t…” Alphys swallowed. “I don’t k-know f-for sure… S-Serif.” She began shaking, becoming more and more unnerved by the cold aura that was rapidly encasing itself around Serif’s being. “I-It m-might just be a-a coincidence… Th-This thing appeared wh-when he died, and… n-now it’s s-stopping you –”  
“stopping me going home.” Serif spoke coldly. Calmly. She wasn’t calm. Not at all. Actually, she was about to lose her shit. “she’s trapped in another world… and now she’s trapping me.” The mist around her eye began to glow, she vaguely noticed Alphys backing away… “she put me here, and she’s stopping me leaving.”   
“Y-You mean –”  
“i guess she thinks this is what i deserve?” Serif hissed. “she tried to kill me! what choice did i have!”   
“Ser –”  
“alphys!”

Serif looked at Alphys, the pink mist subsiding for a moment as both her pupils returned. She noticed that Alphys was trembling, and she offered a half-hearted smile. “sorry, i didn’t mean to scare you.” Serif said sincerely. “where is it now, the force? is it still here?”   
“Um…” Alphys looked at the device in her hand, and began to play around with its dials. “It-It is… b-but it has a stronger reading at the Waterfall right now.” She looked at Serif. “W-Why do you ask? Y-You’re not going to do anything stupid –” She didn’t have time to say anything else before Serif bolted out of the lab, the pink mist immediately returning. Oh, no! “Crap!” Alphys squealed. What was she supposed to do now? Should she tell anyone? Should she go after her? Crap! She was in way over her head – and just when she thought she was done with drama! Crap crap crap crap **crap**! Maybe… Maybe she should just watch, just to make sure Serif wasn’t doing anything stupid. All she’d have to do was re-activate her cameras. She could just… watch the Waterfall area, and keep an eye on Serif, and get help if it looked like Serif was about to do something crazy that Alphys could be held accountable for. … … Yeah… … Or, she could just… bury her head in the sand and watch anime, and pretend like she had no idea Serif was even a danger. … Yeah, okay. “I need PJs.” Alphys thought aloud, and went to get changed into her anime-watching clothes. 

XXXXX

“gaster!” Meanwhile, Serif yelled at the top of her voice as she stormed through the Waterfall area of the Underground, her pupils glowing and her entire skull surrounded by the pink, magical embodiment of her anger. “ _ **gaster**_!” She screamed. “i know you’re here, you jerk! come out and show yourself!” Why was he hiding? This was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Him, and Serif’s mother, they wanted to keep Serif and Sans trapped in another world, just like them. What was it, some kind of sick punishment? Fine… If they thought this was what they deserved… “maybe you’re right.” Serif hissed. “maybe we do deserve it – but you could have at least told us!” She stomped her foot into the ground angrily, her fists clenching so hard she almost broke her own bones. “come on! face me! this is what you wanted – i’m stuck here and sans is stuck over there and we’ll never see our family again, this is **perfect** , right?” She exhaled sharply, and closed her eyes. Okay… She had to calm down. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this mad. … Actually, she could. It was when she’d thrown her mother into that machine. After she’d tried to kill Pristina… “what choice did we have?” Serif growled. “you wanted to kill us, and after all that… we **still** tried to rescue you!” She screamed into the air, her magic spiralling around her as she thundered through the Waterfall, yelling into room after room in a fit of rage. “ **gaster**! come on! don’t be such a baby! come and face me!” 

She sighed, stopping for a moment, and grabbed hold of her skull. Okay… She had to calm down. She had to think. She couldn’t blame them. She couldn’t. Not really. After what she and Sans did… they’d spent so many years trapped because of her, could she really blame them for wanting revenge? Especially if they were sick… Okay. Yeah. Anger wasn’t getting her anywhere. She had to think. She had to talk to him… nicely. If she could. “gaster…” Serif uttered, cautiously walking through the dark Waterfall. “just… let me go home. we’ll fix the machine – we’ll get you out. you can come back, just… please –”  
“Papyrus.” 

Serif stopped dead. What was that…? It was a voice. She didn’t recognise it… Was that him? She didn’t know what he’d sound like…  
“ga –”  
“Papyrus needs Sans.” The voice spoke again. What…? What the hell…? “Papyrus needs Sans. Papyrus needs Sans.” What! She looked around frantically, trying to locate the source of that voice. It was him, it had to be – … Oh. Serif’s pupils dimmed when she saw an echo flower. A few of them, actually. They were all saying the same thing. “Papyrus needs Sans.” Over and over… “Papyrus needs Sans. Papyrus needs Sans.” Again… “Papyrus needs Sans. Papyrus needs Sans. Papyrus needs –”  
“ _ **okay**_!” Serif screamed, her rage suddenly returning as she tried to make sense of what was going on. Why were they saying that? Who had told them to say that! “ **gaster**!” She yelled. “is this you? is this supposed to be funny?”   
“Funny! Funny! Funny!” The flowers repeated chirpily, irritating Serif even more.   
“shut up!” Serif yelled at them. 

She tried to run away. She ran into another room of the Waterfall, only to be greeted by more echo flowers, chanting what she was certain were Gaster’s mocking words.   
“Papyrus needs Sans. Papyrus needs Sans. Papyrus needs Sans.”   
“ _ **shut up**_!” Serif screamed. She stomped on the flowers angrily, tears bursting from her skull. “i know papyrus needs him! **i know** , but sans isn’t here! he’s in another universe because some mad scientist tried to **kill** papyrus!” She threw herself to her knees, completely losing it as the endless chanting of the flowers drove her insane.   
“Kill Papyrus. Kill Papyrus. Kill Papyrus.”   
“ _ **shut up**_!” Serif roared.

She grabbed the flowers by their roots and began tearing at them, furiously ripping apart their petals and stems as if they were at all to blame for any of this. “she wanted to kill me as well, and i stopped her – i even tried to save her, and now i’m stuck here and sans is over there and papyrus is **never** going to see him again!” She screamed loudly, her voice echoing all throughout the Waterfall… Then, when it had subsided, she finally realised what she’d done. The silence that filled the Waterfall made her come to her senses, forcing her to realise that she’d just ripped the echo flowers to shreds. Every last one of them. They weren’t speaking anymore… None of them were. Nobody was. Not them, not Gaster… All she could hear was the faint sound of water, and her own frantic breathing. “… nngh!” Serif grunted loudly, and threw herself to the floor, suddenly overcome by grief. She buried her face in the soft soil, tears streaming down her skull. What was going on…? What was she doing…? She wanted to go home… She wanted all of this to be over. She wanted this to be a dream. She wanted to see her sister. She wanted to see her boyfriend. …

Serif rolled onto her back and reached for the phone. She knew his number. She dialled it, without thinking. She didn’t have any expectations of what would happen. She didn’t dare. She just hoped that… … _Hmmmmmmmmmmm_. The phone hummed a dead tone, failing to reach him. Tch. Of course. Why would it be able to call another universe, right? … Shit. “please…” Serif sobbed. “gaster, please… let me go home.” She sniffed, and closed her eyes. She felt so drained. Maybe from her outburst, or from running around with magic shooting out of her, or maybe she was just so mentally exhausted from this whole thing… Whatever. It didn’t really matter. Serif had no reason to stay awake. She didn’t try to. She allowed her eyelids to feel heavy, and she allowed her conscience to drift away… Maybe when she awoke this all really would be a dream.


	8. Gaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about science... I tried to think of something semi-plausible, but please forgive me if the science in this fic makes absolutely no sense. Normally I hate plotholes and impossible situations, but... welp, if you can't do it in the Undertale fandom then when can you do it?  
> Also sorry this chapter is short, but I wanted this scene to be special so I've given it its own chapter. TBH when I first thought of this fic I thought of the date with Papyrus and this scene, and I wrote the entire rest of the fic around them lol. So... I hope it turned out okay. Please leave your feedback, thanks!

_Ring. Ring._  
“nn…” In the dark depths of the Waterfall, the sleeping Serif turned away from the sound of ringing. Her skull still damp with tears, she scrunched her eyes shut and tried to ignore the shrillness of Alphys’s phone. _Ring ring_. “mm…” Serif gradually came to her senses, and slowly began to recognise the noise… It was the phone. Dammit! She grabbed it hurriedly, and stared at the number on screen. It was Alphys! “alphys!” Serif gasped, still half-asleep as she answered the phone.  
“S-Serif?” Came Alphys’s voice, sounding nervous. “I-I’m glad you’re okay! I thought you were dead!”  
“dead?” Serif blinked.  
“Y-Yeah I’ve been calling for like ten minutes…”  
“i was asleep…” Serif mumbled, rubbing her eye sockets. “uh… how long was i out…?”  
“Oh, you left my lab… a-about two hours ago.”  
“two hours!” Serif gasped, her pupils brightening. “wait – so were you calling for two hours?”  
“Uh… n-no, I wanted anime for a while…” Alphys replied. “Th-Then I went to work on the machine – th-that’s why I’m calling! S-Serif… I-I’m sorry, I… I got it wrong.”  
“what…?” Serif frowned. “what are you talking about? what did you get wrong?”  
“Th-The force…” Alphys spoke quietly. “I… I got that wrong.”  
“what!” Serif cried. “you mean the force isn’t real?” Oh – _what_! What the – how could Alphys get that wrong? Dammit… This was so confusing. So… Gaster wasn’t really here? She wasn’t behind this…? … … Oh.

Serif looked down, suddenly remembering what she’d done right before she fell asleep. Uh… “sorry.” She mumbled to a pile of destroyed echoed flowers. “my bad.” She got up and scratched her skull awkwardly, then began to walk away. “so if it’s not real, then what happened?” Serif demanded into the phone, watching her step as she walked through the rooms of the Waterfall, into another area of echo flowers.   
“ _What happened_?” The voice of the flowers repeated her last words. Dammit… Serif frowned, and turned away from the flowers in an attempt to stop them copying her. They could be kind of annoying.   
“N-No, the force was real!” Alphys insisted. “Wh-What I got wrong was its intentions.”   
“intentions?” Serif frowned.   
“Intentions.” The flowers mimicked her, much to her annoyance.   
“Y-Yes.” Alphys said. “Y-You see… the force _did_ put you there, b-but after further examination, um… Y-You see, this machine – w-well, the universe, really… i-it needs balance. If something is taken, it needs to be replaced, and… th-this machine, I don’t know what it was built for exactly, but whenever I boot it up, I see a… pattern. One different to our own – it’s like the machine is linked to another dimension, l-like it’s a doorway, almost. I-It’s a little more complicated than that, because I can’t really find any solid matter associated to this other universe, but… you get the idea.”   
“uh… yeah… i think so.” Serif mumbled. Yeah… that was the Void she was talking about. It was some other reality, where Gaster was trapped. It was created by that machine…  
“So anyway, i-if you were trying to pull something from the machine, from this other dimension, that would only work if you were going to put something back. I-I mean… if that something you were trying to take is embedded into the other world… Which I-I think this force is.”   
“wait – so… if i wanted to rescue her, i’d have to put something back in her place?” Serif uttered.   
“W-Well, yes. assuming ‘she’ has become a part of this other dimension… Th-The way this force is. Y-You really wouldn’t be able to… ‘rescue’ her w-without trapping yourself there in her place.”   
“… alphys…” Serif choked. “what are you saying…?”  
“When you tried to rescue her, something sent you into this universe instead.” Alphys began. “Y-You think it was the force trying to be cruel to you, o-or hurt you, but… I-I mean… what if… what if it just… wanted to stop you trading places with it? I-If it knew you would have to take its place, I-I mean… …” Her voice softened slightly, making her even harder to hear as Serif loosened her grip on the phone. No… No, that couldn’t be… Gaster didn’t… “W-Would this person h-have any reason to…” No… “… Protect you?” 

_Hiss_. The sharp, blurred echoing of what sounded like a gust of wind suddenly blew past Serif. She barely heard it in her distracted state. She certainly wasn’t listening enough to recognise it as a voice. It was a good thing that someone else was.   
“Papyrus needs Sans.” The echo flowers spoke softly.   
“S-Serif…?” Alphys uttered. “A-Are you still there…?”  
“… i’ll call you back.” Serif replied, and hung up before Alphys could respond. She looked down at the flowers, and listened…  
“I’ll call you back.” The echo flowers repeated Serif’s last words. _Hiss_. “Papyrus needs Sans.” They repeated… someone else. Why were the saying that…? They were saying it so quietly, as if they were imitating a whisper. Serif stared at them and listened, not daring to speak in case they latched onto her words instead. _Hiss_. “Papyrus needs Sans.” There is was, again. The flowers that were further away from her were louder…

Serif took a few steps towards the louder flowers, and she steadily followed the trail of voices that seemed to grow louder and clearer the further she went into the Waterfall. “Papyrus needs Sans. Papyrus needs Sans.” The hissing was becoming clearer… It wasn’t wind. It was talking! It was distant, but it was there. Someone was here. “Papyrus needs Sans.” The flowers were getting really loud now; Serif followed them right up until the trail of flowers ran out. Then she looked around, desperately trying to locate the source of the voice. Come on… come on. He had to be here.   
“gaster.” Serif whispered. “is it true?” She looked around, trying her best to see any kind of movement in the dim light of the Waterfall. “did you want to protect us?”   
“Protect us?” The flowers copied her; Serif tried to ignore them. Come on… Come on…  
“Papyrus needs Sans.” 

Serif froze. That voice… wasn’t an echo flower. Oh… God. “… More than he needs me.”   
“wh…” Serif breathed, her pupils dimming as a strange… aura… surrounded her. There was someone behind her. She could feel it. Was it…? “gaster…?”  
“Gaster…?” The flowers quietly echoed her, just as Serif turned around. Oh, wow…

There she was. Or, he… Gaster. It had to be him. He looked like her… He had those fractures… Serif felt sick as she stared at them. She’d done that, hadn’t she? His skull was in pieces, and he had holes in his hands. His body was… Well, it wasn’t really a body. What… What was he? He looked like a ghost. He seemed to… fade into the atmosphere, as if he were nothing more than a translucent hologram. He wasn’t though, was he? He was here. He was real. How…?  
“It seems your presence here has disrupted the universe.” Gaster answered her, as if he could read her mind. “Normally I would never be able to appear before you; I’m too embedded into that world, you see.” He smiled sadly, his pupils dimming and lowering, as if he were thinking of something. “I could, once upon a time. When I was in there, I could place myself in different times and places. It was rather fun, actually.” He chuckled briefly, before his expression saddened again. “But then… I suppose I became too much a part of the Void. I couldn’t go anywhere else, even though I tried…” He raised his pupils to look at Serif, and smiled. “Your presence has changed that. I can travel again. Thank you for coming here.”   
“you… you put me here, right?” Serif uttered. “to protect sans?”   
“To protect Sans.” The echo flowers repeated her softly, mimicking her and Gaster’s every word.   
“Not exactly.” Gaster replied. “I never wanted to switch the two of you. I simply wanted to cut off the machine, to stop him trading with me. Though, I… I suppose I must have miscalculated my actions, and how the machine would respond.” He offered Serif an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to have done this to you, my dear. It must be so terrible for you, to be so far away from… the people that you love.” He paused for a moment, and as he lowered his eyes again his pupils dimmed once more. “… … Hm.” He grunted, seemingly shaking off whatever thought was in his head. “Well. Anyway.” He looked at Serif. “You must use the machine to switch places with Sans, and please – don’t ever try to rescue me again.”   
“but – you don’t understand!” Serif protested. “i can’t leave you here. it’s my fault you’re trapped – i have to save you. please, there must be a way –”  
“ _No_.” Gaster spoke firmly. “You must not. I’m too embedded – to save me Sans would have to sacrifice himself, and where would Papyrus be? He needs Sans much more than he needs me.”   
“but…” Serif whimpered softly. “it’s… it’s my fault.” 

She stood there, staring into her own thoughts. This couldn’t be happening… This was all so horrible – it was actually easier when she thought Gaster had done this to hurt her! But… to find out that he’d done it to protect her and Sans, to stop them going to the Void… To keep himself trapped there forever, willingly, just for her… No way. She couldn’t live with that. How was she supposed to live with that?   
“No…” Gaster soothed. He took a step towards Serif, and stared down at her. “My dear. It’s mine. I tried to do something terrible to you… To my children.”   
“you were sick.” Serif said. “i – me and sans… we should have realised it. we should have got you help, i…” She stared up at Gaster, her eye sockets steadily filling with tears. “i had no idea what that machine would do.” Serif whimpered. “but she didn’t want me to put her in it – and that’s the only reason i did! i… i wanted to hurt you.”   
“I know.” Gaster nodded. “I heard you tell Papyrus. I could see you, from the Void.”   
“so… why aren’t you mad?” Serif uttered. “why are you helping us?”   
“Because, my dear…” Gaster smiled. “I can… I can see you from the Void.”

He looked down briefly, as if he were trying to compose himself. His eyes were glowing softly, his voice breaking ever so slightly… “I’ve been watching this universe. I… I saw Sans, growing up. I saw the guilt he lived with… I saw him have those terrible nightmares.” He quickly exhaled, and wiped his eyes in embarrassment, before Serif could see his tears. Then he smiled at her. “I’m sure you feel just as guilty as him, my dear. You’ve paid your price, over and over… You don’t deserve to switch places with me.”   
“…” 

Serif stood there numbly. Speechless. How…? How was she supposed to respond to that? He was sacrificing himself! She put him in that world, and now he was choosing to stay in it so that she didn’t have to. It was just… … wow. “i… i don’t know what to say.” Serif uttered, wiping her eyes. She had no idea what to feel. This was horrible, but… he was saving her.   
“Say you will go home.” Gaster said. “You can use the machine to trade with Sans. Say you will do that, and you will never come near the Void again.”   
“okay…” Serif mumbled. “if… if that’s really want you want?”   
“Yes.” Gaster nodded. “I want my children to be safe.”   
“by sacrificing yourself.” Serif uttered.   
“Well…” Gaster smiled slightly. “You should make sacrifices for people that you love.”

Serif’s pupils suddenly widened. She looked at him, shocked. She recognised those words.   
“papyrus said that.” Serif gasped.   
“Yes.” Gaster nodded.   
“he couldn’t remember who taught it him…”  
“Well, it was a long time ago.” Gaster shrugged. “I doubt he remembers most of the things I taught him.”   
“but… how?” Serif frowned. No… This didn’t make sense. Gaster couldn’t have taught him that! Papyrus would have been too young to remember it. “i mean – the last time you saw papyrus, he was just a baby. how would he remember –” Wait… Maybe that was wrong. Maybe Papyrus has seen him since… Serif’s heart began to race. Didn’t Gaster say he could jump in and out of the world for a while? What if he… “you…” Serif breathed. “you… visited him.”   
“For a long time. Every day.” Gaster nodded. “Until I couldn’t come into this world anymore.”   
“did he… recognise you?” Serif mumbled. She already knew the answer. She’d worked it out, it made perfect sense. She just wanted to hear it…  
“He thought I was an imaginary friend.”   
“mister smiley-hands.” Serif breathed.   
“Yes. That’s right.”

Serif took a step back. Oh, wow… This was a lot to take in. Gaster was Papyrus’s – so that meant, Pristina’s imaginary friend… fuck!   
“that was my mom!” Serif gasped, grabbing her skull. “she used to visit pristina!”   
“Yes, I expect so.” Gaster chuckled in mild amusement, all the while blinking back his tears. “How could she resist? Papyrus was always…” He looked away, and paused. Trying to keep himself calm, and professional… even now. “He was always… such a sweet little boy.”   
“why didn’t she visit me?” Serif whimpered. “why didn’t you visit sans?”   
“And show him what he had done to me? No…” Gaster shook his head. “I knew I couldn’t visit forever. I knew the Void would eventually take me, and I didn’t want to put him through that. But, Papyrus had no idea who I was. He believed I was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. He could…” Gaster closed his eyes, and smiled. “He could forget me.”   
“jesus…”

Serif closed her eyes, just as her soul was about to fall apart. No… This was too much. This was too sad – what had she done! She’d caused all this! No… no! “please.” Serif sobbed. She gazed up at Gaster, her eye sockets glistening with tears. “please let me help you.”   
“My dear… you can’t.” Gaster sighed. He stared at Serif for a long moment. He looked sad… As if he wanted to cry. He didn’t, though. Somehow… he managed to smile. “It’s… nice to see Sans again.” Gaster said. “Even if he isn’t quite the same. You do look so much like him.” He paused, and his pupils flickered as he gazed at Serif, as if he were contemplating something. “… May I?”   
“huh?” Serif frowned a little, before noticing that Gaster had outstretched his hand. Oh… right. He wanted to touch her. Well… that made sense. If her presence was the only reason he could even be here at all, then he would probably be trapped in the Void again when she returned home. He wouldn’t be able to see Sans, not for real. She was the closest he would get to his son. … Wow. “yes.” Serif nodded. “of course.” She closed her eyes, and awaited Gaster’s touch. She wondered if this was happening at home. Maybe, in her world, her mother and Sans were having a moment just like this. Maybe somewhere, Sans was the closest thing she’d have to … … nothing. Serif… felt nothing. 

She opened her eyes, only to see a sorrowful expression upon Gaster’s face. His hand… he had it on Serif’s skull – she could see the position of his arm, she knew he had to be touching her… but she felt nothing. He felt nothing too. … Serif knew why. She realised immediately. He wasn’t really here. Not enough. He was just a ghost in this world… and ghosts couldn’t feel.   
“… Well.” Gaster uttered, and withdrew the half-faded hand that had passed through Serif’s skull. He tried to hide his heartbreak, under a calm and gentle face. “I expected as much. I’m… not really here or there, am I? Hm.” He chuckled slightly, forcing himself to be amused by the most upsetting situation in the world. He looked at Serif fondly, staring at every inch of her as if she really were his child. She just looked like Sans to him. She was different, certainly, but she was similar enough to make Gaster feel like Sans was really here. Just for a moment, he could pretend. He did pretend, for as long as he could. Then he met her rosy eyes, and he smiled. “Has anybody ever told you…” Gaster whispered. “… how beautiful you are…?”  
“hah.” Serif smiled a little, blinking back her tears. “just papyrus. … and my boyfriend.”   
“Ah. Yes, your boyfriend.” Gaster nodded. “… You should go back to him. I’m sure he misses you.”   
“gaster –”  
“You can’t.” Gaster stated. “You can’t save me.” He looked at Serif, and offered her one final smile. “I forgive you. I forgive both of you. And now I want you to go home.”   
“… okay.” Serif whimpered. “thank you.”   
“Take care of your sister for me.” Gaster said.   
“i – i will.” Serif nodded. “i pro – wait!” Serif cried out as Gaster started to fade away. No! No, where was he going! “gaster!”

Then he was gone. Just like that. Back to the Void. Back to… what was home now. “… thank you.” Serif whispered. She sniffed back her tears, and wiped her eyes. Okay… Okay. Okay. Well, what else could she do? She had to go home. For gaster, right? She had to make this work, and live the best life she could ever live, it was what Gaster would want. Serif knew that now. She didn’t need to have nightmares anymore; she didn’t need to feel guilty. All she had to do was get home. Okay… Okay. _Ring. Ring_. Hah. Right on cue. “alphys.” Serif answered the phone without even looking at the caller ID. “sorry about that. did you get the machine working?”   
“Um I-I think so.” Alphys answered. “D-Do you want to come and check it over?”   
“that sounds great…” Serif smiled. Hm. Actually, now that she thought of it… She had another idea. If she was going home soon, and things were okay with Gaster, there wasn’t much point in hiding who she was. She kind of wanted to see what Sans looked like after all, so maybe everybody else would… yeah. Cool! “hey, can you get everyone to come to the lab?”   
“Uh, e-everyone?” Alphys repeated.   
“yeah, as soon as you can. thanks, alphys.” Serif grinned, and hung up the phone.


	9. Going Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so as I've said in the past, please ignore the ridiculous science. I have only a basic understanding of physics and anything else science-related so I'm sure whatever logic I'm using in this fic is impossible, but... you know. You're gonna have to grant me flexibility on this... and I absolutely hate plotholes and things that don't make sense, so I do feel your pain but really, I couldn't think of any other way for this to go n_n'  
> Also, just a heads up, the last part of the fic only shows things from Sans's side. I did consider showing Serif's side as well, but I thought that would weaken the ending so I decided to not show her, but please assume that whatever happens to Sans happens to Serif as well.  
> Welp, that's all I guess. Enjoy, and please leave your feedback :) Thanks in advance!

“okay, i can definitely keep this camera?”  
“S-Sure. I mean… there’s every chance that Salphy gave Sans the same one, right? S-So… I’d get it back anyway.”  
“thanks.” Serif grinned at Alphys as the two of them stood in Alphys’s lab, after Serif had gathered everyone here, for some shocking news. She’d finally explained to them who she was. Well, she figured if she was going home and she’d made peace with Gaster, there was no reason to hide it anymore. She didn’t tell them everything; she hadn’t mentioned her history with Gaster. She’d told them she got here by accident after discovering and fooling around with one of Gaster’s machines; she didn’t think it would be right to tell them the truth… That was up to Sans to do, if he wanted anyone to know at all. Whatever happened, it wasn’t Serif’s place to say anything. She did want one last thing though, and Alphys had kindly helped her out by giving her a camera – after wiping the memory card… She was pretty insistent on that. Serif didn’t ask what was on it. She _really_ didn’t want to know. “okay…” Serif mumbled, setting the timer on the camera. “everyone ready?”  
“Yes!” Alphys, Papyrus, Undyne, Grillby and Toriel all nodded, standing together for their photo. Serif set the camera down on Alphys’s desk, and joined the others just in time for her picture to be taken with them. She was pretty sure everyone at home would want to see what their counterparts looked like, so this was the best way to show them. It was also kind of a nice souvenir… of a really weird time.  
“Did it work?” Toriel asked cautiously.  
“uh…” Serif went over to the camera, and checked the picture. “yeah! this looks great!”  
“NYEH! WELL OF COURSE! IT HAS THE COOLEST DUDE IN THE UNDERGROUND IN IT!” Papyrus announced semi-awkwardly. He was still recovering from finding out that this extremely hot girl he had a huge crush on was actually his sister… Or more precisely, it was his brothers Sans – _“OH MY GOD!”_ Papyrus screamed internally, immediately wondering why he was even thinking about it. _“ **DISGUSTING**!”_  
“Ah, don’t worry about it!” Undyne grinned encouragingly, sensing his ongoing torment. “There’s plenty more fish in the sea! Or the garbage dump. How about we go there later and find you a girl?”  
“NO, IT’S OKAY –”  
“That’s the spirit!” Undyne exclaimed, and gave Papyrus an enthusiastic slap on the back that sent him flying into Alphys’s desk. “Who needs women anyway?”  
“U-Um…” Alphys sweat dropped, looking at the heap of bones that was Papyrus. What? ‘Who needs women’? _“She didn’t mean **us** , did she…?”_

Serif smiled at Papyrus, and approached him.   
“hey.” She uttered, holding out her hand. “come on. it wouldn’t have worked. i’m too lazy for you.”   
“WELL… YES, YOU DO HAVE THAT QUALITY…” Papyrus mumbled, allowing her to help him up. “BUT… I WAS… WILLING TO LET THAT SLIDE, BECAUSE YOU WERE SO EASY TO BE AROUND.”   
“pap. i think the only reason you feel comfortable around me is because i remind you of sans.” Serif winked. “and now you know why, right?”   
“… YES.” Papyrus grunted, looking away as his cheeks turned red. _“ **OH MY GOD**!”_  
“hey.” Serif uttered, pulling Papyrus’s gaze back to her. She offered him a warm smile. “it was good to meet you, bro.”   
“… YOU TOO.” Papyrus replied. He flinched slightly when Serif hugged him. Oh… okay. This wasn’t at all awkward. “UH…” Papyrus hesitated for a moment, and finally patted her head. “THANK YOU.”   
“hah.” Serif simply giggled, and pulled away. “okay…” She looked at Alphys. “gonna send me home?”   
“Y-Yes!”

Alphys made her way over to the machine, which now seemed to be running smoothly, and inputted a few instructions. “O-Okay, well… t-the thing is, the principal is the same. I can’t send you back to your world without taking something to replace you, and there’s no guarantee that it will be Sans – I can’t control what gets taken. S-So… what I’ve had to do instead is create a third universe, s-sort of like the Void, except it will act as a bridge between our universes – both sides will have access to it. I-If you and Sans both enter this universe at the same time, we can switch you.”   
“okay, great!” Serif exclaimed, her eyes brightening. “you mean you’ve managed to speak to sans and salphy? i didn’t even know you could do that!”   
“Uh… w-well… I can’t.” Alphys sweat dropped. “I’m… basically just hoping that Salphy came up with the same idea as me, and that he’s going to send Sans into this void at the same time as you…”  
“what!” Serif cried, her pupils almost popping out of her skull. What the hell! What kind of logic was that! “but - - i thought you’d – _seriously_ , that’s your plan? what if sans isn’t there at the same time as me? or at all!”   
“W-Well, we just have to keep trying.” Alphys whimpered. “I-I know it’s not ideal… b-but the alternative is to just send you back into your universe blind, and we could get any combination of monsters back – it would just be luck if we got Sans. A-And we all know this machine is unstable, s-so there’s every chance it would shut down again before we managed to get him, and then what do we do with the people that got sent here by mistake? Because to send them back we’d have to do the same thing and take a chance –”  
“okay, okay, i get it…” Serif mumbled. She closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. Wow… She suddenly felt pretty damn unenthusiastic about this… … Hm. Oh well. Maybe Sans would be there. There was no reason why Salphy wouldn’t be able to fix the machine in that universe too, right? And come up with the same plan? He was Alphys, after all… “fine.” Serif huffed.

She opened her eyes and looked at Alphys. “send me in.”   
“Okay.” Alphys nodded. She approached Serif, and handed her what looked like a dog collar. “Uh… put this on. It’s like a tether – I modified it so that I can use it to talk to you when you’re in the blank universe, and um… it’ll allow me to pull whoever’s wearing it back into this universe. When you see Sans, you need to exchange collars.”   
“under the assumption that salphy thought of this exact same thing?” Serif replied sceptically.   
“Well… y-yes.” Alphys mumbled, lowering her eyes. “Sorry…”

Serif let out another sigh, feeling disheartened again. Wow… would this even work? It kind of seemed like it wouldn’t work… But, what choice did she have? She had to get home. Serif stared down at the collar, and reluctantly put it on.   
“why a collar?” She questioned. “i mean – don’t you have anything else?”   
“Oh! I uh… I just found it in an old cupboard…” Alphys mumbled. “I think maybe it belonged to one of Gaster’s assistants, or –”  
“Hey Alphys!” Undyne’s voice came from behind them. “Isn’t that the one we used to use? You know, before we got the ones with spikes? Ha! I thought you threw that old thing out!”

Alphys paused for a moment, her face turning red. She looked at Serif, and started to tremble.   
“Uh… c-can I…?”  
“no, you absolutely _cannot_ take a picture.” Serif growled. Gross!   
“O-Okay. That’s fair.” Alphys whimpered. She looked at Serif, and offered a small smile. “Well… good luck.”   
“thanks, alphys.” Serif replied, her eyes suddenly softening as she turned a little more sincere. “i mean it…” She spoke. “i really appreciate you doing this.”   
“Oh… it’s no problem.” Alphys uttered, and smiled nervously. “S-Say hello to Salphy for me.”   
“heh. i will.” Serif grinned, and she turned to look at the others one last time. “goodbye guys.”   
“Goodbye, Serif!”   
_“Take care!”_

Their voices became blurry as Alphys triggered the machine, and Serif suddenly found herself transported into another world. All at once her surroundings changed, rapidly blending into somewhere else. Into… nothingness. Literally, there was nothing here. It was just white, everywhere. It seemed to go on forever; there were no walls or ceiling or… anything. This was… weird.   
“hello?” Serif called into the endless white. She took a step forward; the floor was solid. Okay… So that was something. Or maybe it just felt solid, in some kind of illusion. … Whatever. That wasn’t important right now. “sans?”

_Whoosh_. A noise came from behind her. What was that? She turned around, and… … whoa. … Wow.   
“uh… hey.” Someone smiled at her. He was a skeleton, a little taller than Serif. He was wearing a blue hoodie… Oh – wow! “serif?”   
“sans?” Serif gasped, staring at him in disbelief.   
“yeah.” Sans nodded. He approached Serif, and stared at her. “wow, uh… … heh.” He blushed slightly, and sniggered. “you’re kind of… cuter than i imagined.”   
“you too.” Serif studied him curiously. Wow. So if she was a boy, this was how she’d look? He was… kind of attractive. At least, way more than she’d expected. Papyrus didn’t exactly paint a good picture of him… Oh, but there were a couple of stains on his used-to-be-white T-shirt… Yeah. That was pretty gross. Sans was gross. “you should sort out your bedroom.” Serif smirked. “it’s a pigsty. you don’t even have bed sheets!”   
“yeah i do!” Sans protested. “just… not on the bed.” He smirked back. “sorry. i guess i’m kind of a neat freak as a girl, huh?”   
“no, i’m really not.” Serif giggled. “well, uh… …” She looked at him awkwardly. “this is kind of weird.”   
“yeah…” Sans nodded, gazing at her with the same awkwardness. “… uh… hey – your sister’s nice. she’s a little intense, but…”  
“oh – yeah, so’s your brother.” Serif grinned. “he’s cool. i mean, you know… apart from the…”  
“crazy amount of energy?”   
“yeah.”

They both laughed a little, briefly forgetting about the awkwardness. Well… this was weird, but it was kind of cool. It wasn’t every day Serif got to meet another version of herself. … Oh! “hey – what’s up with your grillby?”   
“oh wow, **what** is up with your grillby?” Sans gasped.   
“i had no idea she was that hot!” Serif cried.   
“yeah – i mean he’s a good guy, but i kind of feel like i can’t go there for a while now.”   
“i kind of acted like a dork…” Serif sweat dropped, blushing slightly.   
“yeah, well i bet you didn’t spill ketchup all over him…” Sans mumbled, looking away in embarrassment. “uh… i’m sure she’ll tell you all about it…”  
“haha! seriously?” Serif grinned. “i didn’t do anything that bad!”   
“oh… wow, that doesn’t at all make me feel better.” Sans sniggered a little, and looked at her. “… anyway. we should probably… you know. switch tethers? before that machine decides to break again.”   
“oh, right.” Serif nodded, and removed her collar from around her neck. She held it out to Sans, who took off his own and gave it to her. “whoa!” Serif gasped, her hand sinking under the weight of the thick spiked collar. “this is… pretty hard-core.”   
“yeah, well… you know. undyrus is a pretty big guy.” Sans sweat dropped, his cheeks darkening. “i mean, if he’s the one that… … i didn’t ask.”   
“me neither.” Serif mumbled, putting on the collar. “she actually wanted to get a picture of me wearing this – oh!” Serif looked at Sans, and grinned. “hey – wanna do a selfie?”   
“heh. sure!” Sans grinned back. The two of them pulled out their cameras and stood beside each other, staring up as the lenses as they held the cameras up above them. One… two… _click_!  
“let’s see.” Serif said, and the two of them compared pictures.   
“looks good.” Sans smiled. “you’re pretty photogenic.”   
“you too.” Serif giggled. 

She looked at Sans, and her pupils dimmed a little as she started to think of something else. “hey, um… sans…?” She uttered softly.   
“yeah?”   
“did you… see my –”  
“Sans!” Salphy’s voice yelled from the collar she was now wearing. “A-Are you still there? Did you find Serif?”   
“hey salphy!” Serif grinned into the collar  
. “Serif!” He replied excitedly. “You made it!”   
“yeah.” Serif smiled.   
“heh. it’s good to hear your voice, alphys.” Sans spoke into his own collar. “we’re ready to switch now.”   
“O-Okay!” Alphys answered him.   
“S-Serif, if you’re ready – it’ll just take a couple of minutes to set up the return.” Salphy explained.   
“that’s fine.” 

Serif looked at Sans once more, while the scientists back home inputted more data into the machine.   
“yeah.” Sans said to her. “in answer to your question… i saw her. your mom, right?”   
“… yeah.” Serif uttered. “… what did she say?”   
“does my dad forgive me?” Sans looked at her, his eyes softening a little. “you saw him, right…?”  
“he forgives you.” Serif nodded. “he… did this for you.”   
“so did yours.” Sans smiled. “… how did he look, serif?”   
“like crap.” Serif answered. She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself not to cry as she pictured… what she’d done. Those horrible fractures on his head, and those holes in his hands… It made her feel sick. “we can’t leave them.” She opened her eyes and looked at Sans, her pupils suddenly bright with determination. “we have to find a way to get them out.”   
“yeah – i know.” Sans nodded. “but i can’t think how.”   
“me neither, but we’ll do it.” Serif said. “promise me.” She grabbed Sans’s hands, and stared into his eyes. “please… promise me we’ll do it.”   
“of course.” Sans answered without even thinking about it. He didn’t need to. This was literally the only promise in the world that he would **never** consider breaking. It was the only promise he would ever make without hesitation… actually, it was probably the only promise he’d ever make for the rest of his life. “we’re gonna have to work hard, though.” He smirked a little. “are you willing to do that?”   
“yeah…” Serif giggled a little, wiping her eyes. She squeezed his hand. “just this once.”   
“okay, cool.” Sans squeezed back, and offered Serif a reassuring smile. “we’ll do it, right?”   
“Okay!” Alphys and Salphy’s voices broke into their conversation before Serif had a chance to reply. “We’re pulling you back.”

Sans almost flinched as Serif wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. He closed his eyes and hugged her back, fighting back his own tears as her emotions started to spill onto him.   
“good luck.” He spoke softly.   
“take care of pap.” Serif smiled. 

All of a sudden, there was an overwhelming bang, as if there’d been an explosion. The skeletons choked breathlessly as they found themselves ripped away from each other with such force they thought they would die. Sans gagged; struggling to catch his breath. He felt like he’d just been punched straight through his soul – and then thrown to the other side of the universe! He felt dizzy. He felt like he was moving – like he was being hurled through the air. Then he crashed into… whatever. He had no idea. He couldn’t see anything; he couldn’t hear anything…  
“a-alphys!” He tried shouting, but he couldn’t hear his own words. What the hell? Had he gone deaf? “ **alphys**!” Still nothing… What was going on! Why couldn’t he hear anything! “ _ **alphys**_!” Sans’s pupils widened as the volume of his own voice suddenly startled him. Wow. Okay so not deaf. Just… muted. Maybe he’d been caught between dimensions there. Sound can’t travel in a place that doesn’t exist, right? But he still couldn’t see. It was just black. Just black, everywh – … oh, wait. His eyes were closed. Heh. That was embarrassing. In the confusion of what was going on, Sans hadn’t noticed that the huge punch to the soul had made him close his eyes. He opened them, expecting to find himself in Alphys’s lab… Oh, fuck. “what now…?” He sighed.

Sans looked around. Fuck. Now he was in black nothingness. This wasn’t much better. What the hell was happening? Where was he! He tried not to panic. This was expected, right? This was what Alphys had planned? “alphys?” Sans spoke into his collar. “alphys, where am i?” She didn’t answer… Fuck! “alphys!” **Fuck** why wasn’t she answering? Was he not supposed to be here? Hell! “alphys, something’s wrong!” San cried. “i – i don’t know where i am, can you see?” He waited desperately for her response, but he got none. Oh… crap, this wasn’t good. This was – this was seriously bad! What the hell happened! Where was he? And where was Serif? “serif?” Sans called into the black nothingness. “ser – dammit.” He frowned, suddenly realising that he was lying down. He really had been thrown – and he’d crash-landed into whatever passed for a floor around here. “serif!” Sans cried, standing up. “alphys? hello!”

Nothing… Nothing. Okay. Okay, no worries. No need to panic. That was stupid. This was… just a little setback. He was in some kind of… space between space, or some other void, but… Alphys could trace him, right? Maybe she couldn’t communicate to him, but she could trace him? He hadn’t just vanished? He… he wasn’t trapped here? Oh, fuck… “ **hello**!” Sans screamed into the nothingness. Nothing… He didn’t even hear his own voice echoing – weren’t there any walls in here? There had to be something! If it wasn’t so dark, maybe he could – oh, wait. The camera! Sans grabbed hold of his camera, and switched on the flash. Okay… this was a long-shot, but he was desperately hoping he hadn’t just found himself in a dark empty void. Maybe he was just in Alphys’s lab, and she’d had a power cut and… nobody was answering because they were all asleep? That was pretty unlikely… Whatever! Facts first!

Sans began to take pictures of the room, hoping the flash would light up something – anything to tell him where he was. _Click_. No… nothing. He turned around. _Click_. Nothing. Again, turn. _Click_. Nothing. Ceiling? _Click_. Nothing. Not even a ceiling. Walls? Floor? Anything? _Click click click_. Nothing nothing nothing. Sans’s heart began to race. This wasn’t looking at all promising. Was he trapped in a void? Just like… _click_. “ _ **bah**_!” Sans screamed, his pupils almost popping out of his eye sockets as he leapt back in fright. Jeez! That was terrifying! It was a white face – he really hadn’t expected to see that! “what the –”  
“Sans?”

Sans froze. That voice… Wait. That… that face. That fractured, broken face… Oh… wow.   
“d-dad…?” Sans whimpered. He could see something… In front of him, he could see an outline of a person, about Gaster’s height…  
“Hold on, just let me…”

Suddenly the lights came on, revealing… Gaster. Oh – oh God, Gaster!   
“dad!” Sans cried, before looking around in shock. It was white everywhere now. It was still nothingness, but the light… “h-how did you do that?” Sans breathed.   
“Years of practice.” Gaster replied. “… What are you doing here?” He approached Sans, not bothering to hold back the tears that were quite clearly forming in his eyes. “Why are you here?”   
“i…” Sans panted. “i don’t… alphys was going to pull me back, and the next thing i know – i’m here.” He looked around frantically. “serif isn’t here?”   
“No. But if you’re trapped in my void, maybe she’s trapped in hers.” Gaster whimpered. “The machine took you. It doesn’t want you to go.”   
“what… what are you – it’s not alive, dad.” Sans said. “how can it want anything? alphys must have miscalculated, or –”  
“No.” Gaster shook his head. “It’s this place. It’s the reason I couldn’t travel after a while… It pulls you in. The closer you get to it, the stronger it will pull. Being in that void Alphys made must have brought you close enough to be dragged into here.”   
“how… how did you know about alphys’s void?” Sans asked.   
“Sans.” Gaster smiled. “I watch everything, don’t I?” 

He approached Sans, and stared down at him with soft, damp eyes. “I… watched you, my child. I never thought I’d be able to tell you…” He knelt down in front of Sans, and before the younger skeleton knew it he was being pulled into another hug. This one was different though… It was… his father. Jeez, it was his father. He recognised it now; Sans never thought he remembered the way Gaster used to hug him, but… now it was all so familiar. It was just like this. It was… tight. Gaster always hugged him so tightly, as if he were afraid that Sans would leave… That made sense. Not long after his disappearance Sans realised why that was. Gaster always knew he would have to give his children up – to science, if nothing else. Sans couldn’t imagine what it was like. As he’d gotten older he’d thought about Gaster more and more, and that day… He really believed that Gaster loved him. He didn’t at first, but over time it had become the only thing that made sense. What must it have been like…? To spend every day loving someone that you knew you would have to give up. No wonder he went crazy. He really did think ending Papyrus and Sans was the best way out… and Sans never understood that at the time. So he did something terrible, and now… Well – jeez, here they were! This was really happening! He was… here. With his dad. Wow… Fuck. What the hell was Sans supposed to do now?   
“dad…” Sans whispered. He closed his eyes and clung onto Gaster, a few tears trickling down his skull. He didn’t know what to do; he didn’t know what to say… He’d already said everything, to a mirror of his father… was that enough? He wasn’t entirely sure he could go through that again. “i –”  
“I forgive you.” Gaster spoke. “And I miss you…” He tightened his grip on Sans, burying his face against the warmth of Sans’s skull. “I miss you, Son.”   
“dad…” Sans broke away, and wiped his eyes. “come back with me. alphys can pull us both back! please –”  
“No!” Gaster barked.

He glared at Sans, his once sorrowful, tear-stained face suddenly turning angry. “If I go, you will have to stay. I won’t allow that!”   
“there must be a way.” Sans insisted. “maybe you got it wrong, maybe –” Whoa… what the… This didn’t feel right. Suddenly, Sans started to feel a little nauseous. What the hell? What was going on…?  
“Oh my God…” Gaster breathed. What? Why was he – he looked scared… Sans followed Gaster’s gaze, onto his own hand. Wha – what was that! San’s pupils brightened in shock. What was happening? His hand was turning black! What the fuck!   
“what is that!” Sans demanded, trying to shake the blackness off.

Gaster stared down at himself. No… No! He was changing. He felt more… distant, as if he didn’t belong here. He was starting to fade… _**No**_!  
“The void is rejecting me.” Gaster cried. “It’s replacing me with you!”   
“what does that mean – you’re being sent home?” Sans gasped, his pupils widening. Oh, crap! Was that what this blackness was? It was the Void - - _taking_ him?   
“ _ **No**_!” Gaster screamed. “No, I won’t allow it!”   
“dad – what are you doing!” Sans cried, watching as Gaster started to form some pretty powerful looking magic. Oh, he wasn’t going to…?  
“I’m sending you back!” Gaster exclaimed. “Sans – stay right there!”   
“wha – no way! you can’t control where i go!” Sans wailed, clumsily jumping out of Gaster’s aim in panic. There was no **way** he was letting Gaster do that! “i could end up anywhere!”   
“It’s better than here!” Gaster protested. “You don’t have a choice! If you stay here you will be trapped and I’ll be out there!”   
“fine!” Sans yelled. “maybe this is how it’s supposed to be – come on, you’re a better scientist than i could ever be! just leave me here and go back, you can figure out how to rescue me later!”   
“What if it can’t be done? Don’t be so foolish!” Gaster barked. “I have to expel you!”   
“you have no idea where i’ll wind up – what if i can’t get back, dad!” Sans screamed. “then pap won’t have either of us, just think about – ugh…” He gagged, briefly distracted by an overwhelming feeling of sickness. Oh, jeez… He felt like his soul was fading. This was horrible… “d-dad…” Sans breathed. “listen…”  
“ _S-Sans_!”

Sans’s pupils brightened at the sound of Alphys’s voice. Alphys... Yes!   
“alphys!” He screamed into his collar. “i’m in gaster’s void!”   
“I-I know, I don’t know what happened!” Alphys frantically replied. She sounded scared… “I-I’m going to try to pull you out, okay? J-Just keep talking to me.”   
“what’s wrong?” Sans demanded, becoming rapidly unnerved by the fear in her voice. “don’t tell me you can’t control what’s happening?” Whoa! He felt heavy… Like he was being pulled. He looked down, his heart racing at the sight of that blackness travelling up his arm. Shit… **Shit**!  
“I-It’s unstable, I - - just stay calm!” Alphys shrieked. Yeah, whatever. Sans wasn’t much for big reactions, but this kind of seemed like a time to have a huge fucking reaction! **Fuck**!  
“dad –”

Sans looked at Gaster, and stopped. Wait… What – what the hell…? Gaster was fading – that was him being pushed back into the world, but… he was fading faster than Sans was being taken… Oh wow! “alphys, wait!” Sans yelled.   
“What!” Gaster barked. “Sans – what are you doing!”   
“Wh-What?”   
“alphys – don’t pull me back yet.” Sans ordered. “are you listening?”   
“Y-Yes, but –”  
“What the hell are you **doing**!” Gaster screamed, grabbing hold of Sans. “You **have** to go!”   
“dad, look! you’re changing quicker than me!” Sans protested. “listen, there’s going to be like a ten second window where we can both get out, if i just wait until then –”  
“Are you insane!” Gaster yelled. “You’re putting yourself at risk over nonsense! How do you know you won’t suddenly accelerate? We **cannot** both escape, as soon as I leave you will be pulled –”  
“what if i’m not!” Sans barked. “if nothing speeds up then you’ll be home and i won’t be fully absorbed yet – we can both get out!”   
“No!” Gaster roared. “Absolutely not – **Alphys**!” He yanked the collar towards him, almost breaking Sans’s neck. “This is Doctor Gaster – I want you to pull Sans back **now** –”  
“alphys he’s crazy, don’t listen to him –”  
“ _ **Doctor Alphys pull Sans back now**_!” Gaster screamed at the top of his voice. “Otherwise he will be trapped in here forever!”   
“no!” Sans yelled. “alphys –”  
“S-Sans, I have to!” Alphys cried. “I-It’s becoming unstable! Your signal keeps dropping – I-I don’t know if I can hold onto you much longer –”  
“i said no!” 

Sans tore off his collar and threw it to the ground. “alphys, i took the collar off!” He yelled at it. “don’t even think about pulling me back!”   
“No!” Gaster screamed. He grabbed the collar and yanked Sans towards him, attempting to replace it around Sans’s neck. “Sans – put this on!”   
“nope!” Sans struggled stubbornly, tugging his head away from Gaster. “not until you disappear.”   
“Sans!”

Gaster glared at Sans angrily, with such rage in his eyes it sent a cold shiver through Sans’s bones. Wow… He looked terrifying. Dangerous, even. “I am still your father.” Gaster snarled. “And I am **ordering** you to go home.”   
“i can’t do that.” Sans replied, keeping an eye on Gaster’s fading form. He was almost gone… His voice was getting hazy; just a little longer and – ugh! Sans retched as the feeling of nausea become stronger. Oh fuck, he felt so heavy… It was as if his bones had been filled with lead. He could barely stand; the pulling was overwhelming… He didn’t dare look down. He didn’t want to see how much the blackness had taken over. He could feel it… He could feel it travelling up his ribs, like a thousand spiders crawling all over his bones. Jeez… “just…” Sans panted. “just hold on…”  
“No.” Gaster spat. He looked at Sans, and sneered. “You’re such a fool.” He snarled. “Giving your life for someone who tried to kill you. I wanted you dead! You and your brother – you were nothing more than failed experiments, I couldn’t wait to erase you from my record! You’re an embarrassment to me!”   
“heh…” Sans smiled slightly, his vision becoming blurry. Oh, wow… He felt like he was going to pass out. “if… if you wanted to make me angry at you…” Sans mumbled. “you probably shouldn’t have lead with a hug…” Then, his body gave in. Before Sans knew it he found himself falling to the ground, unable to stand under the heavy pull of the Void.

Gaster caught Sans, and hurriedly put the collar around his neck. He could barely get a grip on it; his body was about thirty seconds away from disappearing completely.   
_“Dr. Alphys!”_ Gaster’s voice echoed somewhere above Sans. No… No. Sans battled to keep his heavy eyes open; he felt so dazed… Something was wrong. The world started shaking… That wasn’t supposed to happen, right…? _“ **Dr. Alphys**!”_ Gaster sounded frightened… Something was definitely wrong.   
“n-no…” Sans spoke weakly. “alphys… don’t…”  
_“S-Sans?”_ Her voice was muffled. _“Ca – y – ear – m –?”_ Her voice was cutting out.   
_“Alphys, please!”_ Wow. Gaster sure did sound far away. Sans felt himself fall to the floor as the disappearing body of Gaster failed to hold him any longer. Yeah… just a few more seconds…  
_“Sans I’m go – pull y –”_ Alphys’s sketchy voice came from the collar.   
“w-wait…” Sans mumbled. “alphys, not yet –”

_**Boom**_! _Swoosh_! Sans’s eyes were forced closed as an almighty sound thundered around him, and he found himself once again being hurled. What? What was – “ugh!” Sans choked as he slammed into something hard, his back almost breaking from the impact. He felt himself thud against the floor, his eyes still closed. Ugh… what a pain… literally. His spine was aching… What happened?   
“ _Sans_?” Alphys’s voice came from somewhere above him. She sounded clear, and close. Like she was in the same room… … _**No**_!  
“no!” Sans screamed, suddenly coming to his senses. He opened his eyes and leapt to his feet, frantically looking around what was Alphys’s lab. “alphys – where –” He looked at her desperately. “what happened!”   
“Y-Your signal was getting r-really weak, Sans…” Alphys whimpered. “I-I had to pull you out, b-before –”  
“before _what_!” Sans snarled. “you should have waited, he could have got me out! if you’d just let him get here - -” He moved his eyes to the machine, which was… Oh, no… _**Fuck**_! “wh-what happened?” Sans breathed, his pupils widening at the sight of what was clearly a destroyed machine. It looked like someone had bombed it; it was in pieces! The bulk of the base was there, but the rest… well, whatever pieces had survived were scattered all around the lab – **fuck**! “what happened to him?” Sans looked at Alphys desperately, grabbing her arm. “did he get out?”   
“Y-You mean… the force?” Alphys stammered.   
“tell me he got out.” Sans whimpered. “please.”   
“I…” Alphys lowered her eyes, to a device in her hand. It was the same one Salphy had used to detect alien patterns. He could track Gaster with it. Sans stared at Alphys, watching her eyes as she looked… … Then his heart sank. Alphys looked sad. No… No! “I… I can’t find it.” Alphys said. “I-I’m sorry, Sans… I-It’s not here, I mean… i-it’s possible that it was… I-I mean, if it was caught b-between universes…”  
“he was erased?” Sans whimpered. He looked into Alphys’s eyes, his eye sockets dampening. “is that what you’re telling me?”   
“I-I’m sorry –”  
“ _ **fuck**_!” Sans screamed, slapping his foot into the floor. “alphys – why couldn’t you just –” He stopped himself before he said something he regretted. It wasn’t her fault. Of course not. She thought she was about to lose him – she probably would have, actually. If Alphys hadn’t pulled Sans out when she did, he would have been erased as well. This wasn’t her fault. This wasn’t her fault… It was his. Sans knew it. He should have listened to Gaster; he should have come back into this world and figured it out from here, but instead he put pressure on the machine and then it - - _**fuck**_! “no!” Sans wailed, grabbing hold of his tear-stained skull. His heart was racing; he was crying so much; he couldn’t stand to think that – _**no**_! This couldn’t be happening! Gaster couldn’t be gone! This couldn’t – no! “no no no no no no –”  
“SANS?”

Suddenly, Sans froze. That voice… Sans looked up, and for the first time he noticed that there were other people in the room. Well, of course there were. But instead of Undyrus and Pristina and the others it was his Grillby, Undyne, Papyrus… and Toriel…   
“g-guys.” Sans choked. He wiped his eyes, and exhaled. “hi –”  
“SANS!” Papyrus exclaimed, cheerfully diving at his brother. “I WAS SO WORRIED! ALPHYS SAID A BUNCH OF SCIENCE STUFF, AND I THOUGHT WE WOULDN’T GET YOU BACK!”   
“Yeah, you had us worried sick, you loser!” Undyne grinned, joining them. “That was the best prank you’ve ever pulled!”   
“Here.” Grillby grunted, tossing a bottle of ketchup to Sans. “On the house.”   
“thanks…” Sans mumbled. Wow… okay… so he was really home…? But – but Gaster…  
“Sans…” Toriel smiled, approaching him.   
“t-tori…” Sans gazed up at her. Wow… he’d almost forgotten how beautiful she was. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed her, and pap, and… … fuck. “tori.” Sans whimpered, and Toriel flinched slightly as Sans suddenly wrapped his arms around her and started sobbing into her dress.   
“Oh – Sans, what’s wrong?” She gasped, bending down to hug him. “It’s okay – you’re home now. I’m sorry I thought you were cheating on me… Are you mad?”   
“no!” Sans cried. No, he wasn’t crying over that! He was crying because his dad - - **dammit**! He couldn’t even tell her. He couldn’t tell her or Pap – he couldn’t talk to anyone about this except Alphys, and he didn’t want her to feel guilty because it wasn’t her fault, it was his! Gaster was erased because of him! “tori, i missed you.” Sans sobbed. “that’s all.”   
“Oh…” Toriel smiled, tightening her grip on Sans. “I missed you too.”   
“WHAT ABOUT ME?” Papyrus demanded. “DID YOU MISS ME, SANS?”   
“yeah…” Sans nodded. “i did, bro…”  
“GOOD!” Papyrus beamed. “I’M GLAD YOU’RE HOME! I THINK I DEFINITELY PREFER YOU AS A BOY, EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE A LOT MORE DISGUSTING.”   
“heh.” Sans wiped his eyes. “thanks, pap…” He let out a sigh, and tried to pretend like everything was okay, even though it wasn’t. In fact, he wasn’t sure if things would ever be okay again.


	10. Epilogue - Mister Smiley-Hands

“NYEH! LOOK EVERYONE – LOOK HOW COOL I AM AS A GIRL! SHE’S REALLY GOT SOME STYLE!”  
“Ha! Yeah, I’d give her one!”  
“Um… one what, Undyne?”  
“don’t ask, tori…”  
“A training session, of course! Or maybe a few!”  
“oh…”  
“Sans, why do you look so surprised? Were you thinking I’d say something else?”  
“no… never mind.”

Sans let out a sigh, and kind of zoned out as everyone around him marvelled excitedly at the photo of their counterparts. He could understand it. This must be a pretty good time for them; as far as they were concerned everything was back to normal, after all…  
“Haha!” Undyne exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across her face. “Alphys, is that you?”  
“I-I guess…” Alphys gasped, staring at a lizard man wearing a lab coat. Wow, he certainly looked different to her. He was much wider, and a little taller. His skin was darker, and he had huge horns on his head… He looked kind of scary, actually. In a… sexy kind of way…  
“He looks like a total nerd!” Undyne exclaimed.  
“O-Oh…” Alphys mumbled, her cheeks darkening as Undyne said the complete opposite of what she was thinking. “Y-You think so…?”  
“Yep! I can see why my guy likes him!” Undyne beamed, which caused Alphys to smile a little.  
“YOUR GUY LOOKS SO BADASS, UNDYNE!” Papyrus grinned. “I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO LOOK **MORE** MASCULINE!”  
“Ha! Thanks, Pap.” Undyne sniggered, feeling complimented. Alphys looked at the image of the monstrous Undyrus. He was so tall and muscular, like his skin was about to rip at any second under the strain of his big… muscles. Wow. Suddenly, Alphys felt her cheeks darken and her heart skip a beat, and she looked away timidly.  
“Are you okay, Alphys?” Toriel asked, noticing she’d suddenly gone quiet.  
“Fine!” Alphys squeaked, and her cheeks darkened even more.  
“What was I like as a guy?” Toriel’s voice came from somewhere above Sans. He kind of heard it, but he wasn’t paying enough attention to have any idea what she said. In his spaced-out daze, he didn’t even realise she was talking to him. “Sans? … Sans?”  
“ **SANS**!” Papyrus screamed, causing Sans to jump a little and snap back to reality.  
“uh – yeah, bro?” He said, offering Papyrus a weak smile.  
“ANSWER THE QUESTION! DON’T BE SO RUDE!”  
“sorry…” Sans mumbled. “what did you ask, bro?”  
“NOT ME!” Papyrus yelled. “TORIEL! TORIEL ASKED YOU WHAT SHE’S LIKE AS A MAN GOAT!”  
“oh! sorry, tori.” Sans gasped, looking at her apologetically. Wow. That was bad of him. That was no way to treat the girlfriend that thought you were cheating on her, right? “uh… you’re a nice guy.” Sans smiled. “you’re really sensitive, but uh… heh.” He smirked a little. “you have a great sense of humour.”  
“Oh! That’s nice.” Toriel smiled, not quite as sincerely as Sans had hoped. Dammit… Sans’s soul sank a little. She knew something was wrong.

XXXXX

Well, that had been a pretty intense day. Aside from all the horrible stuff that had happened, Sans had spent the best part of his afternoon answering question after question about everyone’s counterparts. He didn’t really mind; he’d kind of expected he’d have to do that, but… he felt bad for Toriel. She knew something was wrong. She’d been wanting to ask him all day, he could tell. But they’d never got a minute to themselves… Which Sans was kind of grateful for. He really didn’t feel much like pretending right now, and pretending everything was okay was all he could do. How could he even begin to tell her the truth? Or anyone, for that matter. How do you even start that conversation…? Jeez. Sans hated this. 

He lay down on his still unmade bed, just wishing it could be morning already. He wanted this day to be gone. He wanted it to all be over. Maybe in the morning, things would be better… … Nah. That was bullshit, wasn’t it? Things weren’t going to get better. They maybe wouldn’t get any worse, but no matter how much time went by or how much wishing Sans did, Gaster was… … … dammit. He couldn’t stand to think… damn!  
“please.” Sans whispered, closing his eyes. Please… please don’t let it be true. Just, reset. Wind the clock back, put him back in Serif’s universe and let him try again. He wouldn’t fuck it up this time, he wouldn’t… … he would let Gaster… “ _ **dammit**_!” Sans snarled, rolling around in his grief. He buried his face into the mattress and started sobbing. This was horrible! He hated this! He wanted his dad. He wanted his girlfriend – all of a sudden Sans was regretting not telling Toriel the truth. She could keep a secret, she wouldn’t tell Pap! And she’d make him feel better. Once again he’d done the wrong thing. instead of opening up to Toriel and letting her try to make him feel better he’d pretended like everything was okay, like he just needed to adjust back home, and he’d let her go back to the Ruins when he’d really wanted her to spend the night here, in his house with him. He’d done that. He’d fucked it up **again**! He was stupid! Stupid stupid **stupid**!

Sans closed his eyes, and allowed his tears to trickle down his face and dampen his mattress. How could he fix this…? … He couldn’t. He couldn’t, he… This was just… how things were now. Gaster was erased, and it was Sans’s fault. It would always be Sans’s fault. “dad…” He whimpered. Even this was stupid. Gaster didn’t exist anymore. “i know you can’t hear me… but i’m sorry.” Sans sobbed. “i’m so sorry. i wish i’d listened to you.” He sniffed, and rolled onto his back to stare out of the window. As if that helped. Gaster wasn’t there anyway. He was nowhere now. “i wish i could take it back. i’m really sorry, dad…” What was he even saying…? He was talking to nobody. Literally, nobody. Nobody could hear him. Nobody was watching him. For the first time in his life, Sans felt truly alone. Then…  
“NYEH!”  
“heh.” Sans smiled a little, and closed his eyes. Wow… Papyrus had woken up. Normally Sans hated it when that happened, because Papyrus always wanted another bedtime story and he was so anal about how Sans read it. Now, though… Sans kind of hoped he wasn’t just yelling in his sleep, which Papyrus did quite a lot. Sans could really use his brother right now. “pap…?” He uttered, too quietly for Papyrus to hear. “you awake, buddy?” He spoke a little louder, loud enough, but he still got no response. Hm… Maybe Pap was just dreaming then. That was too bad…  
“OH, _**WOWIE**_! SANS, COME AND CHECK THIS OUT!” Nope. He was definitely awake. Wow, he sounded excited – even more than normal. Sans wasn’t sure he had the energy for this… “IT’S MISTER SMILEY-HANDS!”

Sans’s pupils suddenly widened. Wait… did Pap just say…? No. no, he must be dreaming after all. Either that or Sans had misheard him. There was no way that –  
“Hello, Papyrus.” Okay. A third voice _definitely_ just came from Papyrus’s bedroom. “I’m glad you remember me.”

Sans lay perfectly still, his body frozen while his heart started racing so fast he thought it would explode. Oh… wow. **Wowie**! All of a sudden, Sans’s pupils lit up and a wide grin swept across his face.  
“cool!” He breathed, and jumped up as fast as he could. He almost fell off his bed as he hurried to climb off it, and without a second’s hesitation Sans bolted out towards Papyrus’s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there y’all are. I did it! I’ll be honest, this fic was kind of an experiment for me. I had a few different themes and styles going on, and whether or not they worked together is really up to you to decide. At times I thought it was a disaster, but I was determined not to have yet another unfinished fic, and so I forced myself to finish this and… actually, in the end I liked how it turned out :) Whether I’m alone in that, I don’t know! But I did everything I wanted to do with it, so I guess that’s a good thing.  
> Anyway! Thank you so much for reading, and an even bigger thank you goes to those of you who kept me motivated by reviewing the earlier chapters on ff.net; that really meant a lot to me and it gave me the boost I needed to continue on with this, even when I felt like giving up. I really hoped you all liked this fic, and please give me your feedback if you have time as it would be very much appreciated. Thank you! Take care!
> 
> p.s. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but if you do want to read the Sans/Gaster fight, look up a fic of mine entitled ‘Gaster’s Demise’ and it’s in detail there. Also, my fic Mister Smiley-Hands is a short one-shot about Papyrus and his imaginary friend who we all know has another name :p   
>  Once again, thanks for reading!


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